RESONANCE 

IN 

SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 


504 


RESONANCE 

IN 

SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 


BY 

THOMAS  FLLLEBROWST,  M.D.,  D.M.D. 

TWENTY-ONE  TEARS   PROFESSOR  OF  OPERATIVE  DENTISTRY  AND  ORAL  %XJ& 
OERY  IN  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY*,    MEMBER  OF  THE  AMERICAN  MEDI- 
CAL ASSOCIATION,  THE  ACADEMY  OF  DENTAL  SCIENCE,  THIS 
NEW  ENGLAND    OTOLOGICAL  AND  LARYNGOLOG- 
ICAL    ASSOCIATION,    ETC.;     LECTURER 
ON    VOICE    DEVELOPMENT. 


THIBD   EDITION 


BOSTON 
OLIVER  DITSON  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 

CHAS.  H.  DITSON  &  CO.  LYON  &  HEALY 


51813 


Copyright,  MCMXI 
By  Oliver  Ditson  Company 


International  Copyright  eecurea 


To    THE    MEMORY   OF 

WILLIAM  HASKELL  STOCKBRIDGE 

HJTIL  OF  VANNUCCINI  AND    MY    FIRST   INSTRUCTOR    IN    VOICE   CULTURE, 
THJ8  VOLUME  IS  AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED 


^ 


PREFACE 

Efforts  to  develop  my  own  voice,  and  the  voices  of  my 
patients  after  operations  for  cleft  palate,  aided  by  anatomical 
study,  resulted  in  a  plan  for  the  focusing  and  development 
of  the  human  voice  quite  different  from  any  other  yet  pub- 
lished, or,  so  far  as  I  know,  yet  proposed.  This  plan  has 
proved  so  successful  in  my  later  life  that  I  feel  emboldened 
to  offer  it  for  the  consideration  of  speakers  and  singers. 

While  twenty-five  years  ago  few  of  the  principles  here 
described  were  acknowledged  or  even  recognized,  within  the 
last  decade  almost  all  have  been  advocated  separately  by  dif- 
ferent teachers  or  writers.  At  the  present  time,  therefore, 
originality  consists  only  in  the  classification  of  the  principles 
into  a  systematic,  progressive  whole,  and  in  arranging  a  simpler 
and  more  practical  method  of  applying  them,  thus  making  the 
desired  results  much  more  quickly  attainable. 

It  is  attempted  in  this  volume  only  to  describe  the  value  of 
each  element  in  the  production  of  the  perfect  tone  and  to 
demonstrate  the  principles  which,  if  properly  and  faithfully 
applied,  will  develop  the  best  that  is  possible  in  each  individual 
voice  and  prepare  the  pupil  to  enter  upon  the  more  advanced 
arts  of  speaking  and  singing. 

In  1903  I  prepared  a  series  of  papers  on  The  Art  of 
Vocalism,  which  were  published  in  The  Etude  in  May,  June, 
and  July  of  that  year.  These  articles  are  incorporated  in 
this  work.  In  connection  with  different  organs  and  conditions, 
important  principles  are  stated  and  restated.  This  repetition 
is  thought  desirable  in  order  that  the  fundamentals  may  be 
kept  prominently  before  the  mind  and  impressed  upon  the 
attention. 

I  believe  that  a  careful  study  of  this  volume  will  prove 
of  essential  service  to  teachers  and  advanced  pupils  of  singing 


-> 


viii  PREFACE 

and  oratory,  especially  to  young  teachers  just  entering  upon 
their  duties.  Its  method  will  be  found  adapted  to  the  instruc- 
tion of  pupils  of  all  grades,  from  the  kindergarten  to  the 
Conservatory  of  Music  and  the  School  of  Oratory. 

I  shall  be  gratified  if  this  outcome  of  years  of  experience, 
constant  study,  and  tested  methods  shall  prove  helpful  to  those 
who  seek  mastery  of  the  art  of  beautiful  speaking  and  singing. 


^/^z^77a^  /fyecwz&T**?^ 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface vu 


Introduction 


1 


I.     The  Vocal  Instrument 6 

: 


II.     The  Speaking  Voice  and  Pronunciation 16 

III.  Breath  Control 23 

IV.  Breathing  Exercises 33 


V.     Registers 


38 


VI.  Resonance  in  General 43 

\   VII.  Head  and  Nasal  Resonance 51 

VIII.  Placing  the  Voice 56 

IX.  Throat  Stiffness    . 74 

X.  Some  General  Considerations 77 

XI.  The  Psychology  of  Vocal  Culture 82 

Books  Consulted 86 


Index 


89 


Resonance 

IN 

Singing  and  Speaking 


INTRODUCTION 

When  a  youth  it  was  my  lot  to  be  surrounded  by  examples 
of  faulty  vocalism,  such  as  prevailed  in  a  country  town,  and 
to  be  subjected  to  the  errors  then  in  vogue,  having  at  the 
same  time  small  opportunity  for  training  in  the  application 
of  principles,  even  as  then  imperfectly  taught.  At  middle 
life  I  had  given  up  all  attempt  at  singing  and  had  difficulty 
in  speaking  so  as  to  be  heard  at  any  considerable  distance  or 
for  any  considerable  length  of  time.  Professional  obligations 
to  my  patients,  however,  compelled  me  later  to  take  up  the 
subject  of  vocal  physiology.  This  I  did,  guided  by  the  ideas 
current  on  the  subject. 

About  1880  I  became  satisfied  that  many  of  the  current 
ideas  were  incorrect,  and  determined  to  start  anew,  and  to 
note  in  detail  the  action  of  each  organ  used  in  vocaliza- 
tion and  articulation.  To  this  end  I  sought  vocal  instruction 
and  advice,  which,  modified  by  my  own  observations,  have 
produced  the  most  gratifying  results. 

Up  to  that  time  it  had  been  held  that  the  nasal  cavities 
must  be  cut  off  from  the  mouth  by  the  closing  of  the  soft 
palate  against  the  back  of  the  throat;  that  the  passage  of  ever 
so  little  of  the  sound  above  the  palate  would  give  a  nasal 
twang,  and  that  the  sound  was  reinforced  and  developed  only 
in  the  cavities  of  the  throat  and  mouth.     My  practice  in  Oral 

1 


2  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

Surgery,  coupled  with  my  own  vocal  studies  exposed  this 
fallacy  and  revealed  to  me  the  true  value  of  nasal  resonance. 

The  late  Mme.  Rudersdorff  had  begun  to  recognize  the  effect 
of  nasal  resonance,  but  she  left  no  published  record  of  her 
conclusions.  It  does  not  appear  that  she  or  her  contemporaries 
realized  the  true  value  of  the  nasal  and  head  cavities  as  rein- 
forcing agents  in  the  production  of  tone,  or  appreciated  their 
influence  upon  its  quality  and  power. 

There  are  perhaps  few  subjects  on  which  a  greater  variety 
of  opinion  exists  than  on  that  of  voice  culture,  and  few  upon 
which  so  many  volumes  have  been  written.  Few  points  are 
uncontested,  and  exactly  opposite  statements  are  made  in 
regard  to  each. 

Formerly  great  stress  was  laid  upon  the  distinction  between 
"  head  tones  "  and  "  chest  tones,"  "  closed  tones  "  and  "  open 
tones."  The  whole  musical  world  was  in  bondage  to  "  registers 
of  the  voice,"  and  the  one  great  task  confronting  the  singer 
and  vocal  teacher  was  to  "  blend  the  registers,"  a  feat  still 
baffling  the  efforts  of  many  instructors. 

Many  teachers  and  singers  have  now  reached  what  they 
consider  a  demonstrated  conclusion  that  registers  are  not  a 
natural  feature  of  the  voice;  yet  a  large  contingent  still  adhere 
to  the  doctrine  of  "  register,"  depending  for  their  justification 
upon  the  unreliable  evidence  furnished  by  the  laryngoscope, 
not  realizing  that  there  will  be  found  in  the  little  lens  as  many 
different  conditions  as  the  observers  have  eyes  to  see.  Garcia 
himself,  the  inventor  of  the  laryngoscope,  soon  modified  his 
first  claims  as  to  its  value  in  vocal  culture. 

On  this  point  we  have  the  testimony  of  his  biographer, 
M.  S.  McKinley: 

"  As  far  as  Garcia  was  concerned,  the  laryngoscope  ceased 
to  be  of  any  special  use  as  soon  as  his  first  investigations  were 
concluded.  By  his  examination  of  the  glottis  he  had  the 
satisfaction  of  proving  that  all  his  theories  with  regard  to  the 
emission  of  the  voice  were  absolutely  correct.     Beyond  that 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  3 

he  did  not  see  that  anything  further  was  to  be  gained  except 
to  satisfy  the  curiosity  of  those  who  might  be  interested  in 
seeing  for  themselves  the  forms  and  changes  which  the  inside 
of  the  larynx  assumed  during  singing  and  speaking." 

Of  similar  purport  is  the  word  of  the  eminent  baritone,  Sir 
Charles  Santley,  who,  in  his  Art  of  Singing,  says: 

"  Manuel  Garcia  is  held  up  as  the  pioneer  of  scientific 
teaching  of  singing.  He  was — but  he  taught  singing,  not  sur- 
gery! I  was  a  pupil  of  his  in  1858  and  a  friend  of  his  while 
he  lived  ;*  and  in  all  the  conversations  I  had  with  him  I  never 
heard  him  say  a  •word  about  larynx  or  pharynx,  glottis  or  any 
other  organ  used  in  the  production  and  emission  of  the  voice. 
He  was  perfectly  acquainted  with  their  functions,  but  he  used 
his  knowledge  for  his  own  direction,  not  to  parade  it  before 
his  pupils." 

The  eminent  London  surgeon  and  voice  specialist,  Dr. 
Morell  Mackenzie,  says  of  the  laryngoscope,  "  It  can  scarcely  be 
said  to  have  thrown  any  new  light  on  the  mechanism  of  the 
voice";  and  Dr.  Lennox  Browne  confesses  that,  "Valuable  as 
has  been  the  laryngoscope  in  a  physiological,  as  undoubtedly  it 
is  in  a  medical  sense,  it  has  been  the  means  of  making  all 
theories  of  voice  production  too  dependent  on  the  vocal  cords, 
and  thus  the  importance  of  the  other  parts  of  the  vocal 
apparatus  has  been  overlooked." 

Not  only  in  regard  to  "  registers  "  but  in  regard  to  reso- 
nance, focus,  articulation,  and  the  offices  and  uses  of  the  various 
vocal  organs,  similar  antagonistic  opinions  exist.  Out  of  this 
chaos  must  some  time  come  a  demonstrable  system. 

A  generation  ago  the  art  of  breathing  was  beginning  to  be 
more  an  object  of  study,  but  the  true  value  of  correct  lateral 
abdominal  breathing  was  by  no  means  generally  admitted  or 
appreciated.  It  was  still  taught  that  the  larynx  (voice-box) 
should  bob  up  and  down  like  a  jack-in-a-box  with  each  change 
of  pitch,  and  that  "  female  breathing "  must  be  performed 

*  Garcia  died  July  1,  1906,  at  the  age  of  101. 


4  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

with  a  pumping  action  of  the  chest  and  the  elevation  and 
depression  of  the  collar  bone. 

Fortunately,  teachers  and  singers  recognized  a  good  tone 
when  they  heard  it,  and  many  taught  much  better  than  they 
knew,  so  that  the  public  did  not  have  to  wait  for  the  develop- 
ment of  accurate  knowledge  of  the  subject  before  hearing 
excellent  singing  and  speaking.  Yet  many  singers  had  their 
voices  ruined  in  the  training,  and  their  success  as  vocalists 
made  impossible;  while  others,  a  little  less  unfortunate,  were 
still  handicapped  through  life  by  the  injury  done  by  mistaken 
methods  in  early  years.  Jenny  Lind's  perfect  vocal  organs 
were  quite  disabled  at  twelve  years  of  age  by  wrong  methods, 
and  they  recovered  only  after  a  protracted  season  of  rest.  As 
a  consequence  her  beautiful  voice  began  to  fail  long  before  her 
splendid  physique,  and  long  before  her  years  demanded. 
Singers  taught  in  nature's  way  should  be  able  to  sing  so 
long  as  strength  lasts,  and,  like  Adelaide  Phillips,  Carl  Formes, 
and  Sims  Reeves,  sing  their  sweetest  songs  in  the  declining 
years  of  life.  Martel,  at  seventy  years  of  age,  had  a  full, 
rich  voice.  He  focused  all  his  tones  alike,  and  employed  deep 
abdominal  breathing. 

The  whole  matter  of  voice  training  has  been  clouded  by 
controversy.  The  strident  advocates  of  various  systems,  each 
of  them  "  the  only  true  method,"  have  in  their  disputes  over- 
cast the  subject  with  much  that  is  irrelevant,  thus  obscuring 
its  essential  simplicity. 

The  "  scientific  "  teachers,  at  one  extreme,  have  paid  too 
exclusive  attention  to  the  mechanics  of  the  voice.  The 
"  empiricists  "  have  gone  to  the  other  extreme  in  leaving  out 
of  account  fundamental  facts  in  acoustics,  physiology,  and 
psychology. 

The  truth  is  that  no  purely  human  function,  especially 
one  so  subtle  as  singing,  can  be  developed  mechanically;  nor, 
on  the  other  hand,  can  the  mere  ipse  dixit  of  any  teacher 
satisfy  the  demands  of  the  modern  spirit. 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  7 

admiration.  The  modification  and  interaction  of  these  various 
parts  produced  by  the  emotions  of  the  singer  or  speaker  give 
qualities  of  tone  expressive  of  the  feelings,  as  of  pain  or 
pleasure,  grief  or  joy,  courage  or  fear. 

f*v  «% 

s»* Frontal  sinus 


Pharynx 
Epiglottis 


Vocal  cords 


Lip 

Teeth 

Tongue 


Figure  1. — Section  of  the  head  and  throat  locating  the  organs  of  speech  and  song", 
including  the  upper  resonators.  The  important  maxillary  sinus  cannot  well  be  shown. 
It  ie  found  within  the  maxillary  bone  (cheek  bone).  The  inner  end  of  the  line  marked 
Nasal  cavity  locates  it. 


i 


TIMBRE 


The  minute  differences  in  thefee  physical  conditions,  coupled 
with  the  subtler  differences  in  the  psychical  elements  of  the  per- 
sonality, account  for  that  distinctive  physiognomy  of  the  voice 
called  timbre,.!  which  is  only  another  name  for  individuality 


8  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

as  exhibited  in  each  person.  The  same  general  elements  enter 
into  the  composition  of  all  voices,  from  the  basso  profundo  to 
the  high  soprano. 

That  the  reader  may  better  understand  the  proportion  and 
relations  of  the  different  parts  of  the  vocal  apparatus,  a  sec- 
tional drawing  of  the  head  is  here  produced,  showing  the 
natural  position  of  the  vocal  organs  at  rest.  As  the  drawing 
represents  but  a  vertical  section  of  the  head  the  reader  should 
note  that  the  sinuses,  like  the  eyes  and  nostrils,  lie  in  pairs 
to  the  right  and  left  of  the  centre  of  the  face.  The  location 
of  the  maxillary  sinuses  within  the  maxillary  or  cheek  bones 
cannot  be  shown  in  this  drawing. 

The  dark  shading  represents  the  cavities  of  the  throat,  nose, 
and  head.  The  relations  of  the  parts  are  shown  more  accu- 
rately than  is  possible  in  any  diagram.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
the  vibrations  from  the  larynx  would  pass  directly  behind  the 
soft  palate  into  the  nasal  chamber,  and  very  directly  into  the 
mouth.  The  nasal  roof  is  formed  by  two  bones  situated  be- 
tween the  eyes ;  the  sphenoid  or  wedge-bone,  which  is  connected 
with  all  other  bones  of  the  head,  and  the  ethmoid  or  sieve-like 
bone.  The  structure  of  these  two  bones,  especially  of  the 
ethmoid,  consists  of  very  thin  plates  or  laminae,  forming  a  mass 
of  air  cavities  which  communicate  by  small  openings  with  the 
nasal  cavity  below.  Thus,  the  vibrations  in  the  nose  are 
transmitted  to  the  air  spaces  above,  and  the  effective  qualities 
of  the  head  vibrations  are  added  to  the  tone. 

THE    LARYNX 

The  larynx  or  voice-box  contains  the  vocal  cords.  Just 
above  the  vocal  cords  on  each  side  is  a  large,  deep  cavity,  called 
the  ventricle.  These  cavities  reinforce  the  primary  vibrations 
set  up  by  the  cords  and  serve  to  increase  their  intensity  as 
they  are  projected  from  the  larynx.  The  larynx  is  the  vibrat- 
ing organ  of  the  voice.  It  is  situated  at  the  base  of  the  tongue 
••:  (1  is  so  closely  connected  with  it  by  attachment  t#  the  hyoid 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  9 

bone,  to  which  the  tongue  is  also  attached,  that  it  is  capable  of 
only  slight  movement  independent  of  that  organ;  consequently 
it  must  move  with  the  tongue  in  articulation.  The  interior 
muscles  of  the  lar}'nx  vary  the  position  of  its  walls,  thus 
regulating  the  proximity  and  tension  of  the  vocal  cords.  The 
male  larynx  is  the  larger  and  shows  the  Adam's  apple.  In 
both  sexes  the  larynx  of  the  low  voice,  alto  or  bass,  is  larger 
than  that  of  the  high  voice,  soprano  or  tenor.  The  larynx 
and  tongue  should  not  rise  with  the  pitch  of  the  voice,  but 
drop  naturally  with  the  lower  jaw  as  the  mouth  opens  in  ascend- 
ing the  scale.  The  proper  position  of  the  tongue  will  insure  a 
proper  position  for  the  larynx.  The  less  attention  the  larynx 
receives  the  better. 

THE  VOCAL   CORDS 

The  vocal  cords  are  neither  cords  nor  bands,  but  instead 
are  thick  portions  of  membrane  extending  across  the  inner  sur- 
face of  the  larynx.  On  account-  of.  familiarity  the  name 
vocal  cords  will  still  be  used.  They  are  fairly  well  represented 
by  the  lips  of  the  cornet  player  when  placed  on  the  mouthpiece 
of  the  instrument.  The  pitch  of  the  tone  is  fixed  by  the  ten- 
sion of  the  vocal  cords  and  the  width  and  length  of  the  opening 
between  them.  Their  tension  and  proximity  are  self-adjusted 
to  produce  the  proper  pitch  without  any  conscious  volition  of 
the  singer.  They  can  have  no  special  training,  needing  only  to 
be  left  alone.  The  work  of  the  vocal  cords,  though  essentially 
important,  is,  when  naturally  performed,  light  and  conse- 
quently not  exhausting.  If  the  larynx  and  all  of  its  supporting 
muscles  are  relaxed  as  they  are  in  free  and  easy  breathing,  then 
when  the  air  passes  out  through  the  larynx,  the  vocal  cords 
will  automatically  assume  a  tension  sufficient  to  vocalize  the 
breath  and  give  the  note  the  proper  pitch.  The  normal 
action  of  the  cords  will  never  cause  hoarseness  or  discomfort. 
The  sound  should  seem  to  be  formed,  not  in  the  throat, — thus 
involving  the  vocal  cords, — but  in  the  resonance  chambers. 


10  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

THE  EPIGLOTTIS 

The  epiglottis  is  the  valve  which  closes  over  the  upper 
opening  of  the  larynx.  It  not  only  closes  the  mouth  of  the 
larynx  when  food  is  swallowed,  but  aids  materially  in  con- 
verting into  tone  the  vibrations  set  up  by  the  vocal  cords. 

THE   PHARYNX 

The  pharynx  extends  from  the  larynx  to  the  nasal  cavity. 
The  size  of  the  opening  into  the  nasal  chamber  is  controlled 
by  the  soft  palate  and  is  frequently  entirely  closed.  The  size 
of  the  pharynx  is  varied  by  the  contraction  and  relaxation  of 
the  circular  muscles  in  its  tissue;  when  swallowing  its  walls 
are  in  contact.  The  pharynx  acts  as  does  the  expanding  tube 
of  brass  instruments.  It  increases  the  force  and  depth  of  the 
tone  waves.  The  wider  the  pharynx  is  opened,  without  con- 
straint, the  fuller  the  resonance  and  the  better  the  tone. 

THE  UNDER  JAW 

The  under  jaw  furnishes  attachment  for  the  muscles  of  the 
tongue  and  hyoid  or  tongue  bone.  It  also  controls,  owing  to 
the  connections  of  the  larynx  with  the  hyoid  bone,  the  muscles 
that  fix  the  position  of  the  larynx. 

The  pterygoid  muscles,  which' move  the  under  jaw  forward 
and  backward,  do  not  connect  with  the  larynx,  so  their  action 
does  not  compress  that  organ  or  in  any  way  impede  the  action 
of  the  vocal  apparatus.  A  relaxed  under  jaw  allows  freer 
action  of  the  vocal  cords  and  ampler  resonance.  The  under 
jaw  should  drop  little  by  little  as  the  voice  ascends  the  scale, 
thus  opening  the  mouth  slightly  wider  with  each  rise  in  the 
pitch  of  the  tone.  In  ascending  the  scale  it  is  well  to  open 
the  throat  a  little  wider  as  you  ascend.  The  delivery  will  be 
much  easier,  and  the  tone  produced  will  be  much  better.  At 
the  highest  pitch  of  the  voice  the  mouth  should  open  to  its 
full  width.  At  the  same  time  care  must  be  taken  not  to  draw 
the  corners  of  the  mouth  back,  as  in  smiling,  because  this 
lessens  the  resonance  of  the  tone  and  gives  it  a  flat  sound. 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  11 

The  under  jaw  must  have  considerable  latitude  of  motion 
in  pronunciation,  but  by  all  means  avoid  chewing  of  the  words 
and  cutting  off  words  by  closing  the  jaw  instead  of  finishing 
them  by  the  use  of  the  proper  articulating  organs,  which  are 
the  tongue  and  lips. 

THE   SOFT   PALATE 

Writers  on  the  voice  have  almost  universally  claimed  that 
the  principal  office  of  the  soft  palate  is  to  shut  off  the  nasal 
and  head  cavities  from  the  throat,  and  to  force  the  column 
of  vibrations  out  through  the  mouth,  thus  allowing  none,  or 
at  most  a  very  small  part,  to  pass  into  the  nasal  passages. 

This  contention  implies  that  the  vibrations  are  imparted 
to  the  upper  cavities,  if  at  all,  through  the  walls  of  the  palate 
itself,  and  not  through  an  opening  behind  the  palate.  This 
is  entirely  at  variance  with  the  facts  as  verified  by  my  own 
experience  and  observation  and  the  observation  of  others  who 
are  expert  specialists.  The  true  office  of  the  soft  palate  is  to 
modify  the  opening  into  the  nose  and  thus  attune  the  resonant 
cavities  to  the  pitch  and^-tknbre  of  the  note  given  by  the 
vocal  cords  and  pharynx.  \  To  develop  the  vowel  sounds,  the 
soft  palate  should  be  drawn  forward,  allowing  a  free  passage 
into  the  nose;  it  should  be  closed  only  to  form  the  consonants 
which  require  a  forcible  expulsion  of  breath  from  the  mouthn 
J^7  The  uvula,  the  pendulous  tip  of  the  soft  palate,  serves  as  a 
v&lve  to  more  accurately  adjust  the  opening  behind  the  soft 
palate  to  the  pitch  of  the  voice.  In  producing  a  low  tone  the 
soft  palate  is  relaxed  and  hangs  low  down  and  far  forward. 
As  the  voice  ascends  the  scale  the  tension  of  the  soft  palate  is 
increased  and  it  is  elevated  and  the  uvula  shortened,  thus 
decreasing  the  opening  behind  the  palate,  but  never  closing  it. 
In  fact  the  larger  the  opening  that  can  be  maintained,  the 
broader  and  better  the  tone.  The  author  was  himself  unable 
fully  to  appreciate  this  until  he  had  become  able  to  sense  the 
position  of  the  soft  palate  during  vocalization. 


12  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

THE   HARD  PALATE  AND  TEETH 

The  hard  palate  and  upper  teeth  form  in  part  the  walls 
of  the  mouth.  As  they  are  solid  iixtures,  nothing  can  be  done 
in  the  way  of  training.  They  furnish  a  point  of  impingement 
in  articulation,  and  play  their  part  in  sympathetic  resonance. 

The  bones  which  form  the  roof  of  the  mouth  serve  also  for 
the  floor  of  the  nasal  cavity. 

The  under  teeth  also  serve  as  walls  of  resistance  to  support 
the  tongue  during  the  performance  of  its  functions. 

y_,  THE  NASAL  AND  HEAD  CAVITIES 

^^  The  nasal  and  head  cavities  are  resonating  chambers  incapa- 
ble of  special  training,  but  their  form,  size,  and  the  use  made 
of  them  have  a  wonderful  effect  upon  the  resonance  of  the 
voice.  If  the  vibrations  are  strong  here,  all  other  parts  will 
vibrate    in   harmonious    action. 

When  responding  to  the  perfectly  focused  tone  the  thin 
walls  of  the  cavities  and  the  contained  air  vibrate  with  sur- 
prising force,  often  for  the  moment  blinding  the  singer  when 
sounding  a  note  intensely. 

Having  in  my  surgical  work  demonstrated  the  existence  of 
a  hitherto  unrecognized  connecting  passage  or  canal  between 
the  air  cavities  of  the  face  and  those  of  the  forehead,*  the 
play  of  resonance  in  the  cavities  above  the  nostrils  is  more 
easily  understood.  The  function  of  the  cavities  known  as  the 
frontal  sinuses  (see  Fig.  1)  has  long  been  a  mystery,  but  now 
that  their  direct  connection  with  the  lower  cavities  is  proven, 
and  the  great  significance  of  resonance  is  also  beginning  to  be 
recognized,  the  mystery  disappears.  The  same  may  be  said 
of  the  other  sinuses — ethmoidal,  sphenoidal,  and  maxillary, 
and  their  interconnection. 

*  Dr.  Fillebrown's  paper,  A  Study  of  the  Relation  of  the  Frontal 
Sinus  to  the  Antrum,  was  read  before  the  American  Dental  Associa- 
tion, at  Saratoga,  August  5,  1895.  His  investigation  showed  that  the 
funnel-shaped  passage  known  as  the  infundibulum  extends  from  the 
frontal  sinus  directly  into  the  antrum  or  maxillary  sinus.  This  was 
afterwards  confirmed  by  Dr.  W.  H.  Oyer  and  others. 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  13 

INFLUENCE   OF    THE    RESONANCE    CAVITIES    ON    THE 
PITCH   OF   THE   TONE 

In  instruments  ^changes  in  the  length  and  form  of  the 
resonance  chambers  affect  the  pitch  as  well  as  the  quality  of 
the  tone.  This  is  demonstrated  in  the  trombone,  French  horn, 
and  other  wind  instruments.  The  lengthening  of  the  tube  of 
the  trombone  lowers  the  pitch  of  the  tone,  and  the  projection  of 
the  hand  of  the  performer  into  the  bell  of  the  French  horn  has 
the  effect  of  raising  the  pitch  of  the  sound.  If  the  variation  in 
length  or  form  is  only  slight,  the  result  is  sharp  or  flat,  and  the 
instrument  is  out  of  tune.  In  the  human  instrument  all  the 
organs  act  together  as  a  unit ;  so  the  fact  that  the  cavities 
alone  may  affect  the  pitch  is  practically  of  no  great  significance. 

THE    TONGUE 

The  tongue  and  the  lips  are  the  articulating  organs,  and  the 
former  has  an  important  part  to  play  in  altering  through  its 
movements  the  shape  of  the  mouth  cavity. 

The  tip  of  the  tongue  should  habitually  rest  against  the 
under  front  teeth.  The  tip  of  the  tongue,  however,  must  fre- 
quently touch  the  roof  of  the  mouth  near  the  upper  front  teeth, 
when  pronouncing  the  consonants  c,  d,  g  or  j,  I,  n,  s,  and  t. 
je  back  part  of  the  tongue  must  rise  a  little  to  close  against 
the  soft  palate  when  pronouncing  g  hard,  and  k,  and  hard 
c,  q,  and  x.  The  soft  palate  comes  down  so  far  to  meet  the 
tongue  that  the  elevation  of  the  latter  need  be  but  very  slight. 

When  speaking,  the  demand  is  not  so  imperative,  but  when 
singing,  the  body  of  the  tongue  should  lie  as  flat  as  possible, 
so  as  to  enlarge  the  mouth,  especially  when  giving  the  vowel 
sounds. 

If  the  tongue  is  sometimes  disposed  to  be  unruly,  it  is  the 
result  of  rigidity  or  misplaced  effort  in  the  surrounding  parts. 
This  tendency  will  only  be  aggravated  by  artificial  restraint  of 
any  kind.  The  true  way  is  to  dismiss  tongue  consciousness, 
let  go,  and  a  normal  flexibility  will  easily  manifest  itself. 


14  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

THE  LIPS 

The  lips,  equally  with  the  tongue,  are  organs  of  articulation. 
The  upper  lip  is  the  principal  factor  of  the  two;  the  under 
lip  seems  to  follow  the  lead  of  the  upper.  The  lips  need  much 
training,  and  it  can  readily  be  given  them.  While  practising 
to  educate  the  lips,  both  lips  should  be  projected  forward  and 
upward,  at  the  same  time  pronouncing  the  word  "  too." 
Bring'  the  edge  of  the  upper  lip  as  high  toward  the  nose  as 
possible  in  practice.  This  will  bring  the  corners  of  the  mouth 
forward  and  lift  the  lips  clear  and  free  from  the  teeth,  and 
thus  add  one  more  resonance  cavity.  This  position  of  the  lips 
also  gives  freedom  for  pronunciation.  "  The  upper  lip  plays 
the  most  active  part  in  the  shaping  of  the  vowels.  It  should 
never  be  drawn  against  the  teeth  when  producing  vowel  tones ; 
indeed,  there  should  be  often  a  little  space  between  the  upper 
lip  and  the  teeth,  so  that  the  vibrations  of  the  sound-waves 
can  have  free  play." 

THE   NOSTRILS 

The  nostrils  should  be  dilated  as  much  as  possible,  as  a  free, 
wide,  open  nose  gives  a  free,  well-rounded  tone,  while  a  con- 
tracted nostril  induces  the  nasal  tone  so  much  dreaded.  A 
proper  training  of  the  facial  muscles  makes  this  dilation  pos- 
sible. Lifting  the  upper  lip  and  projecting  it  forward  aids 
the  action  to  a  great  degree. 

There  is  a  strong  tendency  to  unity  of  action  between  the 
nostrils  and  the  lips  and  the  soft  palate.  The  soft  palate 
moves  downward  and  forward  when  the  upper  lip  protrudes 
and  the  nostrils  dilate,  and  moves  backward  and  upward  when 
the  nostrils  are  contracted  and  the  upper  lip  allowed  to  rest 
upon  the  teeth. 

As  a  rule  the  best  singers  have  full,  round,  wide,  open 
nostrils,  either  given  by  nature  or  acquired  by  practice. 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  15 

THE   FACE 

Not  only  must  the  lips  and  nose  be  trained,  but  the  muscles 
of  the  face  also.  These  muscles  are  capable,  if  educated,  of 
doing  important  service. 

The  artist  on  the  operatic  stage  or  the  speaker  on  the 
platform,  without  facial  expression  begotten  of  muscular 
activity,  may  lessen  by  half  his  power  over  an  audience.  To 
train  the  facial  muscles  is  a  complicated  task.  To  tlo  this, 
stand  before  a  mirror  and  make  all  the  faces  ever  thought 
of  by  a  schoolboy  to  amuse  his  schoolmates.  Raise  each 
corner  of  the  lip,  wrinkle  the  nose,  quilt  the  forehead,  grin, 
laugh.  The  grimaces  will  not  enter  into  a  performance,  but 
their  effect  upon  it  will  be  markedly  beneficial. 


CHAPTER  II 
The  Speaking  Voice  and  Pronunciation 

A  generation  ago  the  speaking  voice  was  even  less  under- 
stood than  the  singing  voice.  That  the  two  were  intimately 
connected  was  but  half  surmised.  Only  an  occasional  person 
recognized  what  is  now  generally  conceded,  that  a  good  way  to 
improve  the  speaking  voice  is  to  cultivate  the  singing  voice. 

In  1887  I  published  a  paper  in  the  Independent  Practitioner 
defining  the  singing  voice  and  the  speaking  voice  as  identical, 
and  contending  that  the  training  for  each  should  be  the  same 
so  far  as  tone  formation  is  involved,  a  conclusion  at  which 
I  had  arrived  several  years  before.  Subsequent  experience  has 
only  served  to  confirm  this  opinion. 

The  past  has  produced  many  good  speakers,  among  them 
Henry  Clay,  Daniel  Webster,  Edwin  Booth,  Wm.  Charles 
Macready,  and  Edward  Everett.  Of  the  last  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes  wrote :  "  It  is  with  delight  that  one  who  remembers 
Edward  Everett  in  his  robes  of  rhetorical  splendor,  recalls  his 
full  blown,  high  colored,  double  flowered  periods;  the  rich, 
resonant,  grave,  far-reaching  music  of  his  speech,  with  just 
enough  of  the  nasal  vibration  to  give  the  vocal  sounding-board 
its  proper  value  in  the  harmonies  of  utterance."  These  ex- 
amples of  correct  vocalization,  however,  were  exceptions  to  the 
general  rule ;  they  happened  to  speak  well,  but  the  physiologic 
action  of  the  vocal  organs  which  produced  such  results  in  those 
individual  cases  was  not  understood,  and  hence  the  pupil 
ambitious  to  imitate  them  and  develop  the  best  of  which  his 
voice  was  capable  had  no  rule  by  which  to  proceed.  Few 
could  speak  with  ease,  still  fewer  could  be  heard  by  a  large 
assembly,  and  sore  throats  seemed  to  be  the  rule. 

16 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  17 

DIFFERENCE  BETWEEN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

In  singing  the  flow  of  tone  is  unbroken  between  the  words, 
but  in  speaking  it  is  interrupted.  In  singing  tone  is  sustained 
and  changed  from  one  pitch  to  another  by  definite  intervals_ 
over  a  wide  compassthat  includes  notes  not  attempted  in  speech. 
In  jspeaking  tone  is  unsustained,  not  defined  in  pitch,  is  lim- 
ited to  a  narrow  compass,  and  the  length  of  the  tones  is  not 
governed  b}r  the  measure  of  music. 

Notwithstanding  these  differences,  singing  and  speaking 
tones  are  produced  by  the  vocal  organs  in  the  same  way, 
are  focused- precisely  alike,  have  the  same  resonance,  and  are 
delivered  in  the  same  manner.  \  It  has  been  said  that  speech 
differs  from  song  as  walking  from  dancing.  Speech  may  be 
called  the  prose,  and  song  the  poetry  of  vocalization. 

During  the  past  decade  the  knowledge  of  the  speaking 
voice  has  been  greatly  broadened,  and  the  art  of  cultivating 
tone  has  made  progress.  The  identity  of  the  singing  and 
speaking  voice  is  becoming  more  fully  recognized,  and  methods 
are  being  used  to  develop  the  latter  similar  to  those  in  use 
for  the  training  of  the  former.  As  Dr.  Morell  Mackenzie 
says :  "  Singing  is  a  help  to  good  speaking,  as  the  greater 
includes  the  less." 

The  recognition  of  this  truth  cannot  fail  to  be  a  great  aid 
to  the  progress  of  singing  in  the  public  schools,  since  every 
enlargement  of  exercises  common  to  both  speaking  and  singing 
helps  to  solidarity  and  esprit  de  corps  in  teaching  and  in 
learning. 

An  accurate  sense  of  pitch,  melody,  harmony,  and  rhythm  is 
necessary  to  the  singer,  but  the  orator  may,  by  cultivation, 
develop  a  speaking  voice  of  musical  quality  without  being 
able  to  distinguish  Old  Hundred  from  The  Last  Rose  of 
Summer. 

PRONUNCIATION 

It  is  a  matter  of  common  observation  that  American  singers, 
although  they  may  be  painstaking  in  their  French  and  Ger- 
man,  are   indifferent,   even  to   carelessness,   in   the   clear  and 
2 


18  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

finished  enunciation  of  their  native  tongue.  Mr.  W.  J.  Hen- 
derson, in  his  recent  work,  The  Art  of  the  Singer,  says :  "  The 
typical  American  singer  cannot  sing  his  own  language  so  that 
an  audience  can  understand  him;  nine-tenths  of  the  songs  we 
hear  are  songs  without  words."  Happily  this  condition  is 
gradually  yielding  to  a  better  one,  stimulated  in  part  by  the 
examples  of  visiting  singers  and  actors.  In  story-telling  songs 
and  in  oratorio,  slovenly  delivery  is  reprehensible,  but  when 
the  words  of  a  song  are  the  lyric  flight  of  a  true  poet,  a  careless 
utterance  becomes  intolerable. 

Beauty  of  tone  is  not  everything;  the  singing  of  mere 
sounds,  however  lovely,  is  but  a  tickling  of  the  ear.  The 
shortcoming  of  the  Italian  school  of  singing,  as  of  composition, 
has  been  too  exclusive  devotion  to  sensuous  beauty  of  tone  as 
an  end  in  itself.  The  singer  must  never  forget  that  his  mission 
is  to^vitalize  text  with  tone.  The  songs  of  Schubert,  Schu- 
mann, Franz,  Brahms,  Grieg,  Strauss,  and  Wolf,  as  well  as 
the  Wagnerian  drama,  are  significant  in  their  inseparable  union 
of  text  and  music.  The  singer  is  therefore  jm  interpreter,  not. 
of  music  alone,  butof  text  made  potent  by  music. 

Pronunciation,  moreover,  concerns  not  only  the  listener, 
but  the  singer  and  speaker,  for  pure  tone  and  pure  pronuncia- 
tion cannot  be  divorced,  one  cannot  exist  without  the  other. 
In  his  interesting  work,  The  Singing  of  the  Future,  Mr. 
Ff  rangcon-Davies  insists  that,  "  the  quickest  way  to  fine  tone 
is  through  fine  pronunciation." 

We  cannot  think  except  in  words,  nor  voice  our  thought 
without  speech.  Vocal  utterance  is  thought  articulate.  There- 
fore, instead  of  prolonged  attention  to  tone  itself,  training 
should  be  concentrated  upon  the  uttered  word.  The  student 
should  aim  "  to  sing  a  word  rather  than  a  tone."  Correct 
pronunciation  and  beautiful  tone  are  so  interdependent  as  to 
be   inseparable. 

The  singer  and  speaker  require  all  sounds  in  their  purity. 
To  seek  to  develop  the  voice  along  the  narrow  limits  of  any 
single  vowel  or  syllable,  as  for  instance  the  syllable  ah,  is  harm- 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  1U 

ful.  Not  only  is  this  vowel  sound,  as  Lilli  Lehmann  says, 
"  the  most  difficult,"  but  the  proper  pronunciation  of  all  words 
within  the  whole  range  of  the  voice  is  thereby  impeded.  Dic- 
tion and  tone  work  should  therefore  go  hand  in  hand.  "  The 
Way  in  which  vowel  melts  into  vowel  and  consonants  float 
into  their  places  largely  determines  the  character  of  the  tone 
itself."  Without  finished  pronunciation  speech  and  song  of 
emotional  power  are  impossible.  Gounod,  the  composer,  says, 
"  Pronunciation  creates  eloquence."  Mr.  Forbes-Robertson, 
the  English  master  of  dramatic  diction,  speaking  for  his  own 
profession  says :  "  The  trouble  with  contemporary  stage  elocu- 
tion springs  from  the  actor's  very  desire  to  act  well.  In  his 
effort  to  be  natural  he  mumbles  his  words  as  too  many  people 
do  in  everyday  life.  Much  of  this  can  be  corrected  by  con- 
stantly bearing  in  mind  the  true  value  of  vowels,  the  per- 
cussive value  of  consonants,  and  the  importance  of  keeping  up 
the  voice  until  the  last  word  is  spoken.  There  must  be,  so  to 
speak,  plenty  of  wind  in  the  bellows.  The  great  thing  is  to 
have  the  sound  come  from  the  front  of  the  mouth.  .  .  . 
The  actor  must  learn  to  breathe  deeply  from  the  diaphragm 
and  to  take  his  breath  at  the  proper  time.  Too  often  the 
last  word  is  not  held  up,  and  that  is  very  often  the  important 
word.  .  .  .  Schools  for  acting  are  valuable,  .  .  .  but, 
after  all,  the  actors,  like  other  folk,  must  be  taught  how  to 
speak  as  children  in  the  home,  at  school,  and  in  society." 

In  pronunciation  the  words  should  seem  to  be  formed  by 
the  upper  lip  and  to  come  out  through  it.  By  this  method 
it  will  be  found  easy  to  pronounce  distinctly.  The  words 
will  thus  be  formed  outside  the  mouth  and  be  readily  heard, 
as  is  a  person  talking  in  front  of,  instead  of  behind,  a  screen. 
A  single,  intelligent  trial  will  be  sufficient  to  show  the  correct- 
ness of  the  statement.  Thinking  of  the  upper  lip  as  the 
fashioner  of  the  words  makes  speaking  easy  and  singing  a 
delight. 

To  smile  while  talking  gives  to  the  words  a  flat,  silly  sound, 
hence  the  corners  of  the  mouth  should  be  kept  well  forward. 


20  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

THE    SINGER'S   SCALE    OF   VOWEL   SOUNDS 

nee,  nit  n^t,  nay,  nair,  net,  n'gh,  Nah,  not,  now,  n^r,  nut,  no,  nook,  noo. 
12      3-4         50         7  8       7'      6'       5'      4'     3'       2'       1' 

It  may  fasten  this  in  mind  to  remember  that  at  one  end 
of  the  vowel  scale  is — me,  at  the  other — you. 

The  teeth  and  lips  are  most  closed  at  the  extremes  of  this 
scale,  and  gradually  open  toward  ah,  with  which  vowel  they 
are  widest  apart. 

In  the  series  1-8  the  tongue  is  highest  in  the  centre  for  ee 
and  gradually  descends  until  it  lies  flat  in  the  mouth  for  ah. 

The  upper  pharynx  is  most  closed  in  1,  most  open  in  8, 
and  closes  more  and  more  in  the  descending  series  7'-l'. 

The  lower  pharynx  gradually  opens  in  the  descending  series 

7'-r. 

The  researches  of  Helmholtz,  Koenig,  Willis,  Wheatstone, 
Appunn,  Bell,  and  others  have  shown  that  each  vowel  sound 
has  its  own  characteristic  pitch.  The  Scale  of  Vowel  Sounds 
given  above  corresponds  closely  to  the  order  of  resonance  pitch 
from  the  highest  ee  to  the  lowest  oo.  In  the  natural  resonance 
of  the  vowels  ee  is  highest  in  the  head,  ah  is  midway  in  the  scale, 
and  oo  is  lowest  in  resonance. 

LIP    POSITION 

Figure  2  shows  the  best  position  of  the  lips  to  give  the 
sound  of  ee.  Hold  the  under  jaw  without  stiffness  and  as  far 
from  the  upper  teeth  as  is  consistent  with  delivery  of  the  pure 
sound  of  this  vowel. 

Figure  3  shows  the  best  position  of  the  lifts  to  produce  the 
vowel  oo. 

Figure  4  shows  the  position  of  the  lips  for  the  vowel  sound 
of  long  o.  The  opening  of  the  lips  should  be  made  as  round 
as  is  the  letter  o.  When  preparing  the  lips  to  give  the  sound 
of  o,  the  inclination  is  strong  to  drop  the  lower  jaw  ;  in  practice, 
to  develop  action  of  the  lips,  the  under  jaw  would  better  be 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  21 

held  quite  immovable.  It  will  be  found  possible  to  produce 
all  of  the  vowel  sounds  without  any  change  except  in  the 
form  of  the  opening  of  the  lips.     The  vowel  sound  of  i  is  an 


Figure  2. 


Figure  3. 


Figure  4. 


Figure  5. 


exception ;  for  as  a  compound  of  ah  and  ee,  the  extremes  of  the 
vowel  scale,  it  requires  two  distinct  positions  for  its  utterance 
with  a  movement  of  transition  between;  it  is  not,  therefore, 
a  good  vowel  for  initial  practice. 

Figure  5  shows  that  the  sound  aw  is  produced  from  o  by 
raising  the  edge  of  the  upper  lip  outward  and  upward,  and 
flattening  the  raised  portion  laterally. 


22 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 


Figure  6  shows  the  position  for  producing  ah.  It  differs 
from  the  position  assumed  for  aw  in  that  the  opening  of  the 
lips  is  larger,  the  upper  lip  is  raised  higher,  the  flat  portion  is 
wider,  and  the  under  lip  is  a  little  relaxed.     The  form  of  the 


Figure  6 


Figure  7. 


opening  to  produce  aw  is  oval ;  the  form  for  ah  is  more  nearly 
square. 

Figure  7  shows  the  under  jaw  relaxed,  as  it  should  be  in 
practice,  to  enlarge  the  throat  and  give  roundness  and  largeness 
to  the  tone.  The  use  of  the  word  hung  will  accomplish  this 
end. 

The  vowel  sounds  illustrated  above  are  embodied  in  a  series 
of  vocal  exercises  to  be  found  in  Chapter  VIII  on  Placing  the 
Voice, 


CHAPTER  III 

Breath  Control 

It  has  been  said  that  "  breathing  is  singing."  This  state- 
ment is  equally  applicable  to  speaking.  While  the  aphorism 
is  not  literally  true,  it  is  true  that  without  properly  controlled 
breathing  the  best  singing  or  speaking  tone  cannot  be  pro- 
duced, for  tone  is  but  vocalized  breath  ;  hence  in  the  cultivation 
of  the  voice,  breathing  is  the  first  function  to  receive  attention. 

For  singer  or  speaker,  the  correct  use  of  the  breathing 
apparatus  determines  the  question  of  success  or  failure ;  for 
without  mastery  of  the  motive  power  all  else  is  unavailing. 
For  a  voice  user,  therefore,  the  first  requisite  is  a  well-developed 
chest,  the  second,  complete  control  of  it. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  a  singer's  breathing  is  some- 
thing strange  or  complex,  for  it  is  nothing  more  than  an 
amplification  of  normal,  healthy  breathing.  In  contrast,  how- 
ever, to  the  undisciplined  casual  breathing  of  the  general 
public,  the  singer  is  a  professional  breather. 

THE  MUSCLES  OF  RESPIRATION 

There  are  two  sets  of  respiratory  muscles,  one  for  inspira- 
tion and  another  for  expiration, — twenty-two  or  more  in  all. 
The  principal  muscles  of  inspiration  are  the_diaphragm  and 
the  intercostal  muscles  that  elevate  the  ribs.  The  chief  muscles 
of  expiration  are  the  four  sets  of  abdominal  muscles  and  the 
intercostal  muscles  that  depress  the  ribs.  The  diaphragm  is 
s^not  a  muscle  of  expiration. 

/^~*  THE  DIAPHRAGM 

y~     The  diaphragm  is  in  form  like  an  inverted  bowl  (Fig.  8). 
It  forms  the  floor  of  the  thorax  (chest)  and  the  roof  of  the 
I  23 


24 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 


abdomen.  It  is  attached  by  a  strong  tendon  to  the  spinal 
column  behind,  and  to  theoyalls  of  the  thorax  at  its  lowest  part, 
which  is  below  the  ribs.  Jfrn  front  its  attachment  is  to  the 
cartilage  at  the  pit  of  the"stomach.  It  also  connects  with  the 
transverse  abdominal  muscle.  The  diaphragm  being  convex, 
in  inspiration  the  contraction  of  its  fibres  flattens  it  downward 
and  presses  down  the  organs  in  the  abdomen,  thus  increasing 
the  depth  of  the  thorax.  Expiration  depends  wholly  on  other 
muscles. 


Figure  8. 


The  muscles  so  far  mentioned  are  all  that  need  "  conscious 
education ; "  the  others  will  act  with  them  voluntarily,  auto- 
matically. The  abdominal  muscles  relax  during  inspiration 
and  the  diaphragm  relaxes  during  expiration,  thus  rendering 
the  forces  nearly  equal,  though, the  strength  is  in  favor  of  the 
expiratory  muscles.  This  is  what  is  needed,  for  the  breath 
while  speaking  or  singing  must  go  out  under  much  greater 
tension  than  is  necessary  for  inhalation.  Inspiration  should 
be  as  free  as  possible  from  obstruction  when  singing  or  speak- 
ing.    Expiration  must  be  under  controlled  pressure. 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  25 

THE    LUNGS 

The  lungs  are  spongy  bodies  which  have  no  activity  01 
their  own  beyond  a  little  elasticity.  They  are  controlled  by 
the  muscles  of  respiration. 

Figure  8  shows  the  organs  of  the  body  in  their  natural  posi- 
tions. The  diaphragm  is  relaxed  and  curved  upward,  as  in 
expiration.  During  inspiration  the  diaphragm  is  drawn  down 
until  it  lies  nearly  flat. 

-  y  INSPIRATION 

f  The  intercostal  muscles  raise  the  ribs.  The  diaphragm  is 
drawn  down  by  contraction,  thus  adding  to  the  enlargement 
of  the  chest  by  increasing  its  depth.  The  abdominal  muscles 
relax  and  allow  the  stomach,  liver,  and  other  organs  in  the 
abdomen  to  move  downward  to  make  room  for  the  depressed 
diaphragm.  This  causes  a  vacuum  in  the  chest.  The  lungs 
expand  to  fill  this  vacuum  and  the  air  rushes  in  to  fill  the 
expanding  lungs. 

EXPIRATION 

The  intercostal,  and  a  part  of  the  abdominal,  muscles 
depress  the  ribs  and  lessen  the  chest  cavity  anteriorly  and  later- 
ally. The  abdominal  muscles  compress  the  abdomen  and  force 
up  the  diaphragm  which  is  now  relaxed,  thus  lessening  the 
depth  of  the  thorax.  This  pressure  forces  the  air  from  the 
lungs  and  prepares  them  for  another  inspiration. 


% 


CORRECT   METHOD 


That  the  lateralIaMciminal> — more  accurately  chest-abdom- 
inal— breathing  is  correct  and  natural  for  both  male  and 
female,  and  that  the  shoulders  should  remain  as  fixed  as  werl 
Demosthenes'  under  the  points  of  the  swords  hung  over  them, 
is  now  so  generally  admitted  as  to  need  no  argument  here.  If 
any  one  has  still  a  doubt  on  the  subject  let  him  observe  a 
sleeping  infant.  It  affords  a  perfect  example  of  lateral-abdom- 
inal breathing,  and  no  one  can  have  a  suspicion  of  sex  from 


26  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

any  difference  in  this  function.  Among  the  lower  animals 
sex  shows  no  difference  in  breathing  at  any  age.  All  the 
peculiarities  of  female  breathing  are  the  results  of  habits 
acquired   in   after  life. 

Chest  and  shoulder  heaving  are  vicious  and  evidence  im- 
peded breathing.  The  singer  who,  forgettingj^ie  lower  ihorax, 
breathes  with  the  upper  only  is  sure  to  fail.  VTherefore  breathe 
from  the  lower  part  of  the  trunk,  using  the  whole  muscular 
system  coordinately — from  below  upward.  In  other  words 
breathe  deeply,  and  control  deeply,  but  with  the  whole  body — 
from  below,  not  with  the  upper  chest  only,  or  with  lateral 
expansion  only,  or  abdominal  expansion  only. 

Every  teacher  and  pupil  should  remember  that  "  singing 
and  speaking  require  wind  and  muscle,"  hence  the  breathing 
power  must  be  fully  developed.  Weak  breathing  and  failure 
to  properly  focus  the  voice  are  the  most  frequent  causes  of 
singing  off  the  key.  They  are  much  more  common  and  mis- 
chievous than  lack  of  "  ear." 

Dr.  May  tested  the  breathing  of  85  persons,  most  of  them 
Indians,  and  found  that  79  out  of  the  85  used  abdominal 
breathing.  The  chest  breathers  were  from  classes  "  civilized  " 
and  more  or  less  "  cultured." 

Nature  has  provided  that  for  quiet  breathing  when  at  rest 
the  air  shall  pass  through  the  nose.  But  when  a  person  is 
taking  active  exercise,  and  consequently  demands  more  air, 
he  naturally  and  of  necessity  opens  the  mouth  so  as  to  breathe 
more  fully.  While  speaking  or  singing  the  air  is  necessarily 
taken  in  through  the  mouth. 


3REATK-C0LNTROL 

Firmness  of  tone  depends  upon  steadiness  of  breath  press- 
ure. Steadiness  of  tone  depends  upon  a  control  of  the  breath 
which  allows  a  minimum  volume  of  air  to  pass  out  under 
sufficient  tension  to  produce  vocalization. 

The  tension  and  flow  of  breath  can  be  gradually  lessened 
until  the  tone  vanishes'  and  not  even  a  whisper  remains. 

L 


*6 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  27 


Power  and  largeness  of  tone  depend  first  upon  the  right 
use  of  the  resonant  cavities,  and  second  upon  the  volume  of 
breath  used  under  proper  control. 

In  producing  high  tones  the  breath  is  delivered  in  less 
amount  than  for  the  low  tones,  but  under  greater  tension. 
Absolute  control  of  the  breath  is  necessary  to  produce  the  best 
results  of  which  a  voice  is  capable.  Full  control  of  the  breath 
insures  success  to  a  good  voice ;  without  it  the  best  voice  is 
doomed  to  failure. 

When  muscular  action  is  fully  mastered,  and  the  proper 
method  of  breathing  understood  and  established,  the  muscles 
of  inspiration  and  expiration  will  act  one  against  the  other, 
so  that  the  act  of  breathing  may  be  suspended  at  any 
moment,  whether  the  lungs  are  full,  or  partly  full,  or 
empty.  This  is  muscular  control  of  the  breath.pCCorrect 
breathing  is  health  giving  and  strength  giving;  it  promotes 
nutrition,  lessens  the  amount  of  adipose  tissue,  and  reinforces 
every  physical  requisite  essential  to  speaking  and  singing. 

A  CURE  FOR  NERVOUSNESS 

It  cannot  be  too  widely  advertised  that  the  surest  remedy 
for  that  torture  of  singers  and  speakers,  nervousness,  is  the 
great  tranquillizer, — quiet,  deep  breathing,  deeply  controlled. 
The  breath  of  nervousness  is  quick,  irregular,  and  shallow, 
therefore,  take  a  few,  slow,  deliberate,  deep,  and  rhythmic 
inhalations  of  pure  air  through  the  nostrils,  and  the  panting 
gasp  of  agitation  will  vanish.  As  a  help  toward  deepening 
the  breath  and  overcoming  the  spasmodic,  clavicular  habit, 
inhale  quietly  and  slowly  through  the  nose,  or  slowly  sip  the 
air  through  the  nearly  closed  lips  as  if  you  were  sipping  the 
X  inmost  breath  of  life  itself. 


NECESSITY  OF  BREATHING  EXERCISES 

To  acquire  control  of  breathing,  proper  exercises  must  be 
intelligently  and  persistently  followed.  In  mankind,  nature 
seems  to  have  been  diverted  from  her  normal  course  so  that 


28  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

we  seldom  find  an  individual  who  breathes  correctly  without 
education  in  the  matter.  ^_What  we  have  said  on  breathing 
is  based  on  the  premise  that  respiration  involves  coordinate 
action  of  the  body  from  collar-bone  to  the  base  of  the  abdomen ; 
that  is,  expanding  and  contracting  the  chest  and  abdomen 
simultaneously.  This  is  called  "  lateral-abdominal "  breath- 
ing; as  the  chest  is  the  thoracic  cavity,  "  abdomino-thoracic  " 
has  been  suggested  as  brief  and  more  strictly  scientific. 

Work  on  any  other  lines  fails  to  develop  the  full  power  and 
quality  of  the  voice.  Weak  breathing  is  a  prime  cause  of 
throaty  tones.  In  such  cases  an  effort  is  made  to  increase  the 
tone  by  pinching  the  larynx.  But  this  compresses  the  vocal 
cords,  increases  the  resistance  to  the  passage  of  the  breath, 
and  brings  rigidities  that  prevent  proper  resonance.  The 
true  way  is  to  increase  the  wind  supply,  as  does  the  organist. 

CORRECT    BREATHING    ILLUSTRATED 

The  following  figures  show  the  outline  of  correct  breathing. 
The  inner  abdominal  line  shows  the  limit  of  expiration;  the 
outer  line  shows  the  limit  of  full  inspiration. 

Figure  9  shows  the  limit  of  full  expiration  and  inspiration 
of  the  male,  side  view. 

Figure  10  shows  the  lateral  expansion  of  the  ribs  in  both 
expiration  and  inspiration,  front  view  of  the  male. 

The  expansion  cannot  be  great  at  this  part  of  the  chest, 
as  the  side  is  so  short  a  distance  from  the  backbone  to  which 
the  ribs  are  attached.  The  movement  of  the  ribs  in  front  is 
much  greater,  as  Fig.  9  shows. 

Figure  11  shows  the  front  expansion  and  contraction  in  the 
breathing  of  the  female,  side  view. 

Figure  12  shows  the  lateral  expansion  of  the  chest  in  the 
female,  front  view. 

These  diagrams  are  made  from  photographs,  and  thus  true 
to  life.  It  will  be  noticed  that  there  is  no  difference  in  the 
breathing  outline  between  these  subjects.  The  female  sub- 
ject, though  a  good  singer,  had  had  no  training  in  breathing. 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 


29 


She  previously  insisted  that  she  used  only  the  chest  breathing, 
and  did  not  use  the  abdominal  muscles,  but  actual  test  re- 
vealed the  condition  to  be  that  shown  in  Figure  11  and  con- 
vinced her  that  she  was  mistaken. 


*s\ 


Figure  9. 


Figure  10. 


Figure  11 


Figure  12. 


It  is  not  unlikely  that  many  other  singers  who  now  think 
they  are  using  only  the  high  chest  respiration  would,  if  sub- 
jected to  the  same  test,  find  themselves  similarly  mistaken. 

The  contraction  incident  to  forced  expiration  is  much 
more  tense  than  the  enlargement  of  forced  inspiration.     When 


30  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

singing  or  speaking,  forced  inspiration  is  not  used.  Experience 
shows  that  the  change  in  size  of  the  body  during  speaking  or 
singing  is  usually  small.  Occasionally,  long  passages  in  music 
demand  that  the  expulsive  power  of  the  breathing  apparatus 
be  used  to  its  limit. 

\      ECONOMY   OF   BREATH 

The  quantity  of  air  taken  in  with  a  single  inspiration  is, 
in  quiet  breathing,  according  to  Prof.  Mills,*  from  twenty  to 
thirty  cubic  inches,  but  this  may  be  increased  in  the  deepest 
inspiration  to  about  one  hundred  cubic  inches.  In  forcible 
expiration  about  one  hundred  cubic  inches  may  be  expelled, 
but  even  then  the  residual  air  that  cannot  be  expelled  is  about 
one  hundred  cubic  inches. 

It  is  not,  however,  the  quantity  of  breath  inhaled  that 
is  significant,  it  is  the  amount  controlled.  Get,  therefore,  all 
the  breath  necessary,  and  keep  it,  but  without  undue  effort  and 
without  rigidity. 

To  test  the  amount  of  breath  used  in  prolonged  vocalization, 
a  person  skilled  in  the  art  of  breathing,  after  an  ordinary 
inspiration,  closed  his  lips,  stopped  his  nostrils,  and  began  to 
vocalize.  He  found  that  the  mouth  with  distended  cheeks 
held  sufficient  breath  to  continue  a  substantial  tone  for  twenty- 
three  seconds. 

While  these  experiments  show  that  very  little  amount  or 
force  of  breath  is  needed  to  produce  effective  tones,  the  im- 
pression must  exist  in  the  mind  of  the  performer  that  there 
is  a  free  flow  of  breath  through  the  larynx ;  othenvise  the  tone 
will  seem  restricted  and  will  be  weak.  The  forced  holding 
back  of  the  breath  begets  a  restraint  that  has  a  bad  effect  on  the 
singers  delivery.  While  the  breath  must  be  controlled,  there 
is  such  a  thing  as  an  exaggerated  "  breath  control "  that  makes 
free  delivery  of  the  voice  impossible. 

*  Dr.  Wesley  Mills,   Voice  Production,  ]  906. 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  31 

It  is  quite  possible  to  overcrowd  the  lungs  with  air.  Do 
not,  therefore,  make  the  mistake  of  always  taking  the  largest 
possible  breath.  Reserve  this  for  the  climaxes,  and  inhale 
according  to  the  requirements  of  the  phrase  and  its  dynamics. 
The  constant  taking  of  too  much  breath  is  a  common  mistake, 
but  trying  to  sing  too  long  on  one  breath  is  another. 
* 

THE  INITIAL  USE  OF  BREATH  FORCE 

The  breath  force  when  properly  employed  seems  to  be  / 
expended  in  starting  the  vibrations  in  the  larynx;  the  vibra- 
tions are  then  transmitted  to  the  air  in  the  resonance  cavities, 
and  there  the  perfected  tone  sets  the  outer  air  in  motion, 
through  which  the  tone  vibrations  are  conveyed  to  the  ear  of 
the  listener. 

RESERVE    BREATH    POWER 

The  correctly  trained  singer  or  speaker  will  never  allow 
the  breath  power  to  be  exhausted.  Some  breath  should  be 
taken  in  at  every  convenient  interval  between  the  words,  accord- 
ing to  the  punctuation,  but  never  between  syllables  of  a  word; 
this  is  correct  phrasing.  In  this  way  the  lungs  are  kept  nearly 
full  and  breathing  is  at  its  best. 

The  chief  cause  of  breath  exhaustion  is  wasted  breath. 
This  waste  comes  from  exhaling  more  breath  (more  motive 
power)  than  the  tone  requires,  and  breath  that  does  not  become 
tone  is  wasted.  This  fault  is  largely  induced  by  lack  of  proper 
resonance  adjustment. 

The  singer  should  always  feel  able  to  sing  another  note  orl 
to  speak  another  word.  To  sing  or  speak  thirty  or  forty  counts 
with  one  breath  is  useful  practice  but  poor  performance.  Occa- 
sionally, long  runs  in  singing  may  compel  an  exception.  Half- 
empty  lungs  lower  the  pitch  of  the  tone,  lessen  the  resonance, 
and  weaken  the  voice,  rendering  the  last  note  of  the  song  and 
the  last  word  of  the  sentence  inaudible.  The  breathing  must 
not  be  forced,  but  enough  air  must  be  furnished  to  produce 
the  proper  full  vibrations. 


32  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

BREATH    MASTERY 

What  then  does  perfect  control  of  the  breath  mean? 

1.  Ability  to  fill  the  lungs  to  their  capacity  either  quickly 
or  slowly. 

2.  Ability  to  breathe  out  as  quickly  or  slowly  as  the  occasion 
demands. 

3.  Ability  to  suspend  inspiration,  with  the  throat*  open, 
whether  the  lungs  are  full  or  not,  and  to  resume  the  process  at 
will  without  having  lost  any  of  the  already  inspired  air. 

4.  Ability  to  exhale  under  the  same  restrictions. 

The  above  four  points  are  common  to  speaking  and  singing, 
but  singing  involves  further: 

5.  Ability  to  sing  and  sustain  the  voice  on  an  ordinary 
breath. 

6.  Ability  to  quietly  breathe  as  often  as  text  and  phrase 
permit. 

7.  Ability  to  breathe  so  that  the  fullest  inspiration  brings 
no  fatigue. 

8.  Ability  to  so  economize  the  breath  that  the  reserve  is 
never  exhausted. 

9.  The  ability  to  breathe  so  naturally,  so  unobtrusively, 
that  neither  breath  nor  lack  of  breath  is  ever  suggested  to  the 
listener — this  is  the  very  perfection  of  the  art. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Breathing  Exercises 

Enough  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  chapter  to  make 
clear  the  necessity  of  breath  control,  and  to  show  what  con- 
stitutes this  control  for  the  singer — the  professional  breather. 

If  the  singer's  breathing  is  nothing  but  an  amplification  of 
normal,  healthy  breathing,  why  dwell  upon  it,  why  not  let  it 
develop  of  itself? 

Unfortunately,  many  teachers  have  taken  this  attitude, 
overlooking  the  fact  that,  although  life  is  dependent  on  normal, 
healthy  breathing,  such  breathing  is,  in  civilized  communities, 
not  the  rule  but  the  exception,  simply  because  normal  living 
is  rare;  the  artificiality  of  modern  life  forbids  it.  The  high 
pressure  under  which  most  people  live  induces  mental  tension 
together  with  the  consequent  nervous  and  muscular  tension. 
We  are,  without  being  conscious  of  it,,  so  habituated  to  unnat- 
ural tension  that  automatic  breathing  is  shallow  and  irregular 
instead  of  being  deep  and  rhythmic. 

The  task,  therefore,  is  to  reclaim  a  neglected  birthright — 
jiatural  breathing — to  make  it  habitual  and  amplify  it. 

PRELIMINARY  SUGGESTIONS 

1.  Breathing  exercises  to  be  invigorating  and  purifying 
demand  plenty  of  fresh  air. 

2.  At  first  do  not  practise  longer  than  ten  minutes  at  a-j 
time,  three  times  a  day. 

3.  Gradually  lengthen  the  time  without  overdoing.  When 
.bired  stop. 

4.  The  best  time  is  before  dressing  in  the  morning,  witfe 
the  window  open.    The  worst  time  is  directly  after  a  meal. 

5.  Maintain  throughout  an  easy,  flexible  poise. 

6.  Breathe  as  deeply  as  possible  without  abdominal  disten 
3  33 


> 


34  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

tion.     The  greatest  expansion  should  be  felt  at  the  lower  end 
of  the  breast-bone. 

7.  Breathe  as  broadly  as  possible,  expanding  the  sides  witr.  • 
'out  tension. 

8.  Breathe  as  high  as  possible  without  shoulder  movement 
or  stiffness. 

9.  Use  not  the  high  breath  alone,  or  the  mid-breath,  or  the 
low  breath,  but  use  the  complete  breath. 

10.  Breathe  rhythmically  by  counting  mentally. 

11.  Breathe  thoughtfully  rather  than  mechanically. 

12.  Do  not  crowd  the  lungs  or  lay  stress  on  the  mere  quan- 
tity of  air  you  can  inhale.  The  intake  of  breath  is,  for  the 
singer,  secondary  to  its  control,  economy,  and  application  in 
song.     Increase  of  lung  capacity  will  duly  appear. 

13.  When  not  singing,  speaking  or  practising  an  exercise 
that  demands  it,  keep  your  mouth  shut. 

ATTITUDE 

Dress  the  neck  and  body  loosely,  so  as  to  give  the  throat 
and  trunk  perfect  freedom.  Place  the  hands  on  the  hips,  so 
as  to  free  the  chest  from  the  weight  of  the  arms.  Stand  erect, 
evenly  upon  the  balls  of  the  feet;  the  body  straight,  but  not 
strained.  Raise  the  back  of  the  head  slightly  without  bending 
the  neck.  This  action  will  straighten  the  spine,  place  the  chest 
forward,  and  bring  the  abdomen  backward  into  its  proper 
relation. 

The  great  majority  of  people  are  shallow  breathers,  chest 
leathers,  who  when  told  to  take  a  "  deep  breath  "  do  not  know 
/what  is  meant.  It  is  therefore  necessary  for  them  first  to 
learn  what  a  deep  breath  is,  and  then  how  to  take  it. 

Exercise  I 

FOR  THOSE  WHO  DO  NOT  KNOW  WHAT  A   DEEP  BREATH  IS 

Before  rising  in  the  morning,  remove  your  pillow  and  while 
flat  on  your  back  place  one  hand  lightly  on  the  abdomen,  the 
other  on  the  lower  ribs.     Relax  the  whole  body,  giving  up  your 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  35 

whole  weight  to  the  bed.  Inhale  through  the  nostrils  slowly, 
evenly,  and  deeply,  while  mentally  counting  one,  two,  three, 
four,  etc.  As  you  inhale,  notice  (a)  the  gradual  expansion 
of  the  abdomen,  (6)  the  side  expansion  of  the  lower  ribs, 
(c)  the  rise  and  inflation  of  the  chest,  without  raising  the 
shoulders.  Hold  the  breath  while  mentally  counting  four 
(four  seconds),  then  suddenly  let  the  breath  go,  and  notice  the 
collapse  of  the  abdomen  and  lower  chest.  Remember  the 
inspiration  must  he  slow  and  deep,  the  expiration  sudden  and 
complete.  Practise  this  preliminary  exercise  for  not  more  than 
ten  minutes  each  morning  for  a  week.  The  second  week  hold 
the  breath  six  seconds,  instead  of  four,  and  gradually  increase 
the  time,  without  overdoing. 

While,  for  a  novice,  the  exercises  may  be  taken  at  first  in 
bed,  this  is  but  a  preliminary  to  their  practise  standing  in  easy 
poise  as  directed  in  the  preceding  section. 

Exercise  II 

SLOW    INHALATION    WITH    SUDDEN    EXPULSION 

Inhale  as  in  I;  hold  the  breath  four  counts  (seconds)  or 
more;  then  expel  the  air  vigorously  in  one  breath  through  the 
wide  open  mouth.  The  beginner  is  often  helped  in  acquiring 
a  deep  breath  by  slowly  sipping  breath.  Therefore  as  a  variant 
to  Exercise  II  practise: 

Exercise   III 

SIPPING    THE    BREATH,    WITH    QUICK    EXHALATION 

Through  the  smallest  possible  opening  of  the  lips,  while 
mentally  counting,  inhale  very  slowly  and  steadily;  hold  two 
to  four  counts,  then  expel  the  air  all  at  once  through  the  wide 
open  mouth. 

Exercise  IV 

FOB   RIB   EXPANSION 

To  more  completely  arouse  dormant  muscles  that  should 
play  an  important  part  in  breathing,  place  the  hands  against 
the   sides,   thumbs   well   back,  take,  through  the  nostrils   or 


36  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

the  slightly  parted  lips,  six  short  catch-breaths,  moving  the 
ribs  out  at  the  side  with  each  catch-breath.  Hold  the  breath 
two  counts,  and  exhale  through  the  mouth  with  six  short  ex- 
piratory puffs,  drawing  the  ribs  in  at  the  side  with  each  puff. 

Exercise  V 

SLOW  INHALATION  WITH   SLOW  EXPIBATION 

Inhale  as  in  I,  while  mentally  counting  one,  two,  three, 
four,  etc.,  until  the  inhalation  seems  complete.  Hold  the 
breath  four  or  more  counts;  then  exhale  through  the  nostrils 
slowly  and  evenly  while  mentally  counting  to  the  number 
reached  in  the  inspiration.  With  practice  the  number  of 
counts  will  gradually  increase.  Do  not,  however,  force  the 
increase.  The  muscles  that  control  inspiration  are  powerful; 
do  not,  therefore,  make  the  mistake  of  seeking  to  control  ex- 
piration by  contraction  of  the  glottis.  Practise  these  exer- 
cises with  an  open  throat  and  depend  on  the  breathing  muscles 
for  control  of  the  outgoing  air.  Eemember  that  singing  is 
control  of  breath  in  exit. 

Exercise  VI 

RAPID    INSPIRATION    WITH     SLOW    EXPIRATION 

Inhale  through  the  nostrils  quickly,  deeply,  and  forcefully 
(one  count)  ;  hold  two  counts;  exhale  through  the  nostrils 
evenly,  steadily,  and  as  slowly  as  possible  while  mentally  count- 
ing one,  two,  three,  four,  etc.  With  practice  gradually  increase 
the  number  of  counts  for  the  exhalation. 

Exercise   VII 

FARINELLl'S    GREAT   EXERCISE 

The  Cavalier,  Don  Carlo  Broschi,  better  known  as  Fari- 
nelli  (1705-1782),  the  world's  greatest  singer  in  bravura  and 
coloratura,  was  a  pupil  of  Porpora  and  Bernacchi.  There  was 
no  branch  of  the  art  which  he  did  not  carry  to  the  highest  per- 
fection, and  the  successes  of  his  youth  did  not  prevent  him 
from  continuing  his  study,  or,  when  his  name  was  famous,  from 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  37 

acquiring  by  much  perseverance  another  style  and  a  superior 
method.  His  breath  control  was  considered  so  marvelous  in 
that  day  of  great  singers,  it  is  said,  that  the  art  of  taking  and 
keeping  the  breath  so  softly  and  easily  that  no  one  could  per- 
ceive it  began  and  died  with  him.  He  is  said  to  have  spent 
several  hours  daily  in  practising  the  following  exercise: 

As  in  Exercise  III,  sip  the  breath  slowly  and  steadily 
through  the  smallest  possible  opening  of  the  lips;  hold  it  a 
few  counts,  then  exhale  very  slowly  and  steadily  through  the 
smallest  possible  opening  of  the  lips. 

Farinelli's  exercise  is  not  for  beginners. 

Exercise  VIII 

THE    CLEANSING    BREATH 

For  ventilating  and  sweeping  the  lungs,  for  quick  refresh- 
ment after  fatigue,  and  for  use  always  at  the  close  of  your 
exercises,  inhale  through  the  nostrils  slowly  a  complete  breath ; 
hold  two  to  four  counts,  purse  the  lips  tightly  and  expel  through 
them  a  small  puff  of  air,  hold  two  counts,  puff  one,  hold  two 
counts,  puff  one,  and  so  on  until  the  exhalation  is  complete. 
A  few  trials  should  convince  you  that  this  simple  exercise  is 
of  great  value. 

HALF-BREATH 

In  both  singing  and  speaking,  the  sustained  delivery  of  long 
phrases  or  sentences  sometimes  makes  unusual  demands  on 
the  breath  supply.  It  is  a  law  of  good  singing  that  every 
phrase  should  end  with  the  breath  unexhausted.  When  the 
flow  of  text  and  music  forbid  the  taking  of  a  full  breath,  half- 
breaths  must  be  quietly  taken  at  convenient  points.  Instead 
of  letting  the  whole  reservoir  of  motive  power  exhaust  itself 
and  then  completely  refill  it,  we  should,  by  taking  these  half- 
breaths,  maintain  a  reserve.  A  notable  advocate  of  the  use 
of  the  half-breath  in  singing  is  that  past  mistress  of  sus- 
tained and  smooth  delivery,  Marcella  Sembrich. 


51813 


CHAPTER  V 

Registers 

The  subject  of  registers  has  always  been  the  bete  noire 
of  vocalists,  a  source  of  controversy  and  confusion.  The 
term  "  register,"  as  commonly  used,  means  a  series  of  tones 
of  a  characteristic  clang  or  quality,  produced  by  the  same 
mechanism.  The  term/' break"  is  generally  used  to  indicate 
the  point  at  which  a  new  register  with  sudden  change  appears. 

The  advocates  of  registers  lay  stress  either  on  the  changes 
in  laryngeal  action,  or  the  changes  in  tone  quality.  Before 
the  days  of  the  laryngoscope,  registers  were  treated  simply  as 
different  qualities  of  tone,  characterizing  a  certain  portion  of 
the  voice's  compass. 

Those  who  encourage  the  cultivation  of  register  conscious-- 
ness  claim  to  do  so  for  the  sake  of  the  differences  in  tone- 
color  which  they  associate  with  the  different  "  registers."  The 
purpose  of  the  following  chapters  is  to  show  that  the  quality 
or  color  of  a  tone  is  altogether  a  matter  of  resonance,  and  not 
a  question  of  laryngeal  action. 

Moreover,  the  mechanism  of  the  larynx  is  not  voluntary  in 
its  action,  but  automatic,  and  even  if  a  singer  knew  how  the 
vocal  cords  should  act  it  would  not  help  him  in  the  least 
to  govern  their  action.  The  fact  is  that  the  results  of  laryngo- 
scopy study  of  the  vocal  cords  have  been  disappointing  and 
contradictory  and  investigators  have  failed  to  define  what  cor- 
rect laryngeal  action  is.  There  are  those  who  even  deny  that 
the  vocal  cords  govern  the  pitch  of  the  voice. 

In  her  thoughtful  Philosophy  of  Singing,  Clara  Kathleen 
Rogers,  while  upholding  "  registers,"  says  that  considered 
physiologically  "  the  different  registers  of  the  voice  should 
be  regarded  by  the  singer  as  only  so  many  modifications  in 

28 


'p 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  39 

the  quality  of  tone,  which  modifications  are  inherent  in  the 
voice  itself."  She  then  adds  significantly :  "  These  modifica- 
tions are  not  brought  about  by  conscious  adjustments  of  the 
parts  employed,  as  any  interference  with  the  parts  will  pro- 
duce that  obstacle  to  quality  we  call  a  '  break.'  " 

One  of  the  greatest  of  modern  singers,  Mme.  Lilli  Lehmann, 
in  her  interesting  work,  How  to  Sing,  says :  "  Do  registers  exist 
by  nature  ?  ]STo.  It  may  be  said  that  they  are  created  through 
long  years  of  speaking  in  the  vocal  range  that  is  easiest  to  the 
person,  or  in  one  adopted  by  imitation."  She  speaks  of  three 
ranges  of  the  voice,  or,  rather,  three  sections  of  the  vocal  range, 
as  chest,  middle,  and  head,  saying,  "  All  three  form  registers 
when  exaggerated."  After  speaking  of  the  hopeless  confusion 
that  results  from  clinging  to  the  appellations  of  chest,  middle, 
and  head  register,  confounding  voice  with  register,  .she  con- 
cludes : 

"  As  long  as  the  word  '  register '  is  kept  in  use  the  regis- 
ters will  not  disappear,  and  yet  the  register  question  must  be 
swept  away,  to  give  place  to  another  class  of  ideas,  sounder 
views  on  the  part  of  teachers,  and  a  truer  conception  on  the 
part  of  singers  and  pupils." 

The  trend  of  recent  thought  on  this  subject  is  further 
shown  in  Ffrangcon-Davies'  important  work,  The  Singing  of 
the  Future,  where,  having  in  mind  "  the  useless  torture  to 
which  thousands  of  students  have  been  subjected,"  he  character- 
izes "  breaks  "  and  "  registers  "  as  "  paraphernalia  supplied 
by  credulity  to  charlatanism  ";  and  adds:  "How  many  a  poor 
pupil  has  become  a  practical  monomaniac  on  the  subject  of  that 
break  in  my  voice  between  D  and  D  sharp!" 

My  own  studies  convince  me  that  there  is  but  one  register, 
or,  rather,  no  such  thing  as  register,  save  as  it  applies  to  the 
compass  of  the  voice;  and  that  chest,  middle1_jiead.  and  all 
other  registers  are  creations  of  false  education.  Training 
based  upon  the  theory  of  many  registers  results  in  an  artificial 
and  unnatural  division  of  the  voice. 


40  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

THE  VOICE  AND  INSTRUMENTS  COMPARED 

The  organ  of  the  voice  has  long  been  considered  the  ana- 
logue of  every  other  instrument  except  in  regard  to  registers. 
Investigation  indicates  that  it  is  analogous  in  this  respect  also. 
Compare  the  voice  instrument  with  the  pianoforte,  violin,  and 
organ  and  the  similarity  will  plainly  appear.  The  artificial 
instruments  undergo  no  change  when  making  a  tone  of  higher 
or  lower  pitch  other  than  the  attuning  of  the  vibrator  to  the 
pitch  desired.  All  other  parts  remain  the  same.  So  when 
the  voice  is  correctly  focused  and  delivered,  the  only  change 
incident  to  altered  pitch  is  that  made  in  the  vibrator  so  as  to 
give  the  proper  number  of  vibrations  for  the  pitch  required. 
If  the  scale  is  sung  down,  using  the  same  vowel  sound  for  the 
whole  scale,  the  comparison  will  be  appreciated;  the  pupil 
will  not  be  conscious  of  any  change  in  the  vocal  organ  or  ex- 
perience any  difficulty  in  descending  the  scale.  Faithful  advo- 
cates of  the  theory  of  many  registers  say :  "  Whenever  in  doubt 
about  the  production  of  a  tone,  sing  down  to  it  from  some  tone 
above  it,  never  upward  from  a  tone  below,"  for  they  find  that 
singing  down  "  blends  the  registers."  This  we  believe  is  because 
in  singing  down  muscular  and  nerve  tension  is  gradually  relaxed 
and  consequently  there  is  no  "  register  "  change  in  the  voice. 

A  study  of  the  church  organ  will,  I  think,  make  this  matter 
clear.  The  organ  has  many  so-called  registers,  as  the  vox 
humana,  flute,  oboe,  etc.  These  differ  in  the  character  of  tone 
produced,  because  of  the  size  and  shape  of  the  different  sets 
of  pipes  and  the  material,  wood  or  metal,  of  which  they  are 
made.  But  each  similarly  constructed  set  of  pipes  forms  only 
one  register,  and  the  pitch  of  the  set  varies  from  low  to  high 
without  any  abrupt  change  in  quality.  All  the  tones  are  pro- 
duced by  the  same  methods  and  means,  the  bellows,  the  vibra- 
tor, and  the  pipe.  In  length  and  diameter,  the  pipe  is  proper 
to  the  tone  produced:  a  short  pipe  of  small  diameter  for  the 
high  tones,  and  a  long,  wide  pipe  for  the  bass  tones. 

The  short  vibrations  of  the  high  tones  are  perceived  by  the 
ear  as  affecting  the  air  only,  while  the  tones  of  the  lowest  bass 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  41 

pipes  shake  the  solid  foundations  as  well  as  the  superstructure. 
So  with  the  human  voice.  The  coarser  tissues  cannot  answer 
to  the  short  vibrations  of  the  upper  tones,  because  they  cannot 
move  so  quickly,  while  they  can,  and  do,  respond  to  the  vibra- 
tions of  the  low  tones.  This  may  cause  some  difference  in 
degree,  but  not  in  kind.  With  all  tones  focused  alike,  the 
low  tones  of  the  human  organ  may  be  regarded  as  head  tones 
plus  the  vibrations  of  the  coarser  tissues. 

It  has  been  said  of  registers  that  they  are  "  acoustic  illu- 
sions which  disappear  in  the  perfectly  trained  voice."  As  soon 
as  the  singer  has  learned  to  use  his  voice  normally  all  these 
defective  changes  disappear. 

TWO  CASES 

The  following  incident  illustrates  the  fact  that  registers 
are  an  artificial  creation :  A  young  lady  who  had  been  a 
patient  of  the  author  since  her  childhood  studied  elocution  in  a 
metropolitan  city,  and  to  improve  her  voice  took  vocal  music 
lessons  of  a  teacher  of  more  than  local  repute.  He  found  no 
end  of  trouble  in  teaching  her  to  "  blend  the  registers,"  and  she 
had  utterly  failed  to  acquire  the  art.  One  summer  she  came 
back  for  professional  services  and  told  her  troubles.  During 
the  few  weeks  of  her  stay  she  followed  the  author's  suggestions, 
and  was  fully  convinced  of  their  correctness  and  efficiency. 
Upon  returning  to  her  lessons,  she  followed,  without  any  ex- 
planations, the  method  that  had  been  outlined  for  her.  Her 
success  in  "  blending  the  registers "  was  a  surprise  to  her 
teacher  who  heartily  congratulated  her  upon  what  she  had 
accomplished  during  the  summer. 

Another  case  is  that  of  a  young  lady  who  was  under  the 
author's  direction  as  to  vocal  culture  from  childhood.  As 
early  as  four  years  of  age  she  was  taught  by  the  use  of  a  few 
exercises  to  focus  the  voice  in  the  nose  and  head,  and  to 
recognize  the  head  vibrations  by  a  light  touch  of  the  finger. 
When  about  seven  years  old,  she  took  ten  lessons  of  a  teacher 
on  the  same  lines,  and  at  fifteen  years  of  age  took  another  brief 


42  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

course.  In  the  meantime  she  had  only  the  practice  obtained 
by  singing  with  the  pupils  in  the  schools  she  attended.  Later, 
of  her  own  volition,  she  sang  more,  and  carefully  applied  the 
principles  she  had  been  taught,  with  the  result  that  her  voice 
compassed  nearly  two  octaves,  evenly  and  smoothly,  with  no 
break  or  change  of  focus  or  quality,  or  other  intimation  of 
"  register,"  and  she  developed  a  speaking  voice  of  more  than 
ordinary  quality  and  resonance. 

It  has  also  been  my  lot  to  aid  in  the  development  of  the 
voices  of  many  patients  after  a  surgical  operation  for  cleft 
palate.  Success  has  proven  the  correctness  and  efficacy  of 
the  principles  set  forth  in  these   pages. 

A  majority  of  the  more  than  fifty  authors  whose  works  I 
have  examined  have  laid  great  stress  on  the  distinction  between 
head  and  chest  tones,  open  and  closed  tones,  pure  and 
impure  tones,  have  warned  against  the  nasal  tone,  and  have 
constantly  advocated  a  natural  tone.  That  there  is  no  essen- 
tial difference  between  a  head  tone  and  a  chest  tone  has  already 
been  discussed  and,  it  would  seem,  conclusively  proven.  Any 
tone,  closed  or  open,  is  pure  and  musical  if  properly  focused 
and  delivered,  and  the  singer  is  at  liberty  to  use  either  upon 
any  note  of  the  scale  if  it  will  serve  better  to  express  the  senti- 
ment he  wishes  to  convey  to  the  hearer.  The  cooing  of  the 
love  song,  the  cry  of  alarm  for  help,  and  the  shout  of  the 
military  charge  require  very  different  qualities  of  voice  to 
express  the  feelings,  yet  each  may  be  musical  and  will  be  so  if 
properly  delivered. 


CHAPTEK  VI 

Eesonance  in  General 

The  intimate  relationship  existing  between  voice  culture 
and  the  science  of  acoustics  was  formerly  slightly  perceived. 
The  teaching  of  singing,  as  an  art,  then  rested  altogether 
on  an  empirical  basis,  and  the  acoustics  of  singing  had  not 
received  the  attention  of  scientists. 

With  the  publication  in  1863  of  Helmholtz's  great  work  * 
a  new  era  began,  although  singer  and  scientist  yet  continue  to 
look  upon  each  other  with  suspicion.  Teachers  of  the  voice, 
casting  about  for  a  scientific  basis  for  their  work,  were  greatly 
impressed  with  Helmholtz's  revelations  in  regard  to  vocal 
resonance — the  fact  that  tones  are  modified  in  quality  as  well 
as  increased  in  power~bXth_e  resonance  of  the  air  in  the  cavities 
of  pharynx  and  head. 

Writing  in  1886,  Edmund  J.  Meyer  speaks  of  the  im- 
portance of  a  "  study  of  the  influence  of  the  different  reso- 
nance cavities  as  the  voice  is  colored  by  one  or  the  other,  and 
the  tuning  each  to  each  and  each  to  all " ;  yet,  he  adds,  "  the 
subject  is  seldom  heard  of  outside  of  books." 

The  basic  importance  of  resonance  in  the  use  of  the  voice 
is  still  too  little  recognized,  though  obvious  enough  in  the  con- 
struction of  musical  instruments.  With  the  exception  of  a 
few  instruments  of  percussion,  all  musical  instruments  possess 
three  elements, — a  motor,  a  vibrator,  and  a  resonator.  The 
violin  has  the  moving  bow  for  a  motor,  the  strings  for  a  vibra- 
tor, and  the  hollow  body  for  a  resonator.  The  French  horn 
has  the  lungs  of  the  performer  for  a  motor,  the  lips  for  a 
vibrator,   and   the   gradually   enlarging   tube,   terminating  in 

*  Die  Lehre  von  den  Tonempfindungen  als  physiologische  Grund- 
lage  fiir  die  Theorie  der  Musik.  (The  Sensations  of  Tone  as  a 
Physiological  Basis  for  the  Theory  of  Music.) 

43 


44  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

the  flaring  bell,  for  a  resonator.  In  the  pianoforte  the  ham- 
mer-stroke, the  strings,  and  the  sounding-board  perform  the 
corresponding  offices.  Though  improvements  in  other  parts  of 
the  piano  have  done  much  to  increase  the  volume  of  the  tone, 
yet  in  the  radical  change  of  form,  size,  and  other  physical 
qualities  of  the  sounding-board  consists  the  evolution  of  the 
modern  pianoforte  from  the  primitive  clavichord. 

In  all  these  instruments  the  quality  and  power  of  the  tone 
depend  upon  the  presence  of  these  three  elements, — the  perfec- 
tion of  their  construction,  their  proper  relation  as  to  size  and 
position,  and  the  perfect  adaptation  of  each  part.  A  split 
sounding-board  spoils  the  pianoforte,  the  indented  bell  destroys 
the  sweet  tone  of  the  French  horn,  and  a  cracked  fiddle  is  the 
synonym  for  pandemonium  itself. 

The  quality  and  power  of  resonance  is  well  illustrated  by 
a  tuning-fork,  which,  if  set  in  vibration,  can,  unaided,  scarcely 
be  heard  by  the  person  holding  it.  But  i  if  rested  on  a  table, 
or  a  plate  of  glass,  or,  better  still,  on  the  bridge  of  a  violin,  its 
tones  may  be  distinctly  heard  throughout  a  large  hall. 

The  vibrating  violin  string  when  detached  from  the  body 
of  this  instrument,  although  attuned  to  pitch,  gives  absolutely 
no  musical  sound ;  the  lips  of  the  player  placed  on  the  mouth- 
piece detached  from  the  tube  and  bell  of  the  brass  instrument 
produce  only  a  splutter;  and  a  pianoforte  without  a  sounding- 
board  is  nil.  The  air  column  in  the  tube  of  the  French  horn, 
and  the  sounding-board  of  the  pianoforte  develop  the  vibrations 
caused  by  the  lips  and  strings  into  musical  tones  pleasing  to  the 
ear.  The  tuning-fork  alone  can  scarcely  be  heard,  while  the 
induced  vibrations  it  sets  up  through  properly  adjusted  reso- 
nance may  be  audible  far  away. 

The  vocal  cords  alone  cannot  make  music  any  more  than 
can  the  lips  of  the  cornet  player  apart  from  his  instrument. 
The  tone  produced  by  the  vibrations  alone  of  the  two  very 
small  vocal  bands  must,  in  the  nature  of  things,  be  very  feeble. 

Ninety-and-nine  persons  if  asked  the  question,  what  pro- 
duces tone  in  the  human  voice,  would  reply,  "  the  vibrations 


/ 


EESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  45 

of  the  vocal  cords,"  and  stop  there,  as  if  that  were  all ;  whereas 
the  answer  is  very  incomplete — not  even  half  an  answer. 

A  great  deal  of  the  irrational  and  injurious  "  teaching  "  of 
singing  that  prevails  everywhere,  and  of  the  controversy  that 
befogs  the  subject,  is  due  to  the  widely  prevalent  notion  that 
the  little  vocal  cords  are  the  principal  cause  of  tone,  whereas         \ 
they  are  in  themselves  insignificant  as  sound  producers. 

It  is  the  vibrations  of  the  air  in  the  resonance  cham- 
bers of  the  human  instrument,  together  with  the  induced 
vibrations  of  the  instrument  itself,  which  give  tone  its 
sonority,  its  reach,  its  color,  and  emotional  power. 

That  this  is  not  an  empirical  statement  but  a  scientific 
fact,  a  few  simple  experiments  will  demonstrate. 

Tone,,  in  the  musical  sense,  is  the  result  of  rapid  periodic. 

vibration.     The  pitch  of  tone   depends  upon   the  number  of  < 
vibrations  in  a  given  period ;  the  loudness  of  tone  depends  \ 
upon  the  amplitude  of  the   vibrations;  the  quality  of  tone  \ 
depends  upon  the  form  of  the  vibrations;  and  the  form  of. 
the  vibrations  depends  upon  the  resonator. 

The  fact  that  pure  white  light  is  a  compound  of  all  the  tints 
bi  the  rainbow  into  which  it  may  be  resolved  by  the  prism  is 
well  known,  but  the  analogous  fact  that  a  pure  musical  tone  is  a 
compound  of  tones  of  different  rates  of  vibration,  tones  of 
different  pitch,  is  not  so  much  a  matter  of  common  knowledge, 
and  not  so  obvious.  ^    -^ 

Analysis  shows  that  a  musical  tone  consists  of  a  funda- 
mental note  and  a  series  of  overtones.*  The  ear  is  quite  capa- 
ble of  recognizing  many  of  these  overtones  and  may  be  trained 
to  do  so.  The  most  obvious  can  be  readily  separated  from  a 
fundamental  by   a  simple  experiment. 

The  overtones  arrange  themselves  in  a  definite  order,  as 
follows:  (1)  the  fundamental  or  prime  tone;  (2)  an  overtone 
one  octave  above  the  fundamental ;    ( 3 )    an  overtone  a  fifth 

*  For  fuller  exposition  see  Tyndall  on  Sound,  or  the  seotion 
devoted  to  Acoustics  in  any  text-book  on  Physics. 


46  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

above  No.  2;  (4)  an  overtone  a  fourth  above  No.  3  (two 
octaves  above  the  fundamental);  (5)  an  overtone  a  major 
third  above  No.  4;  (6)  an  overtone  a  minor  third  above  No.  5. 
There  are  others  in  still  higher  range  but  those  indicated  are 
easily  demonstrated  on  the  piano.  For  C  they  would  be  as 
follows : 


Experiment  I 

Step  to  your  piano,  noiselessly  press  and  hold  down  the 
key  ©f  No.  2,  then  strike  the  fundamental  No.  1,  with  force 
and  immediately  release  it.  As  a  result  No.  2  will  sound 
clearly,  and  if  your  ears  are  keen  you  will  at  the  same  time  hear 
No.  6.  In  succession  hold  down  the  keys  of  3,  4,  5,  and  6, 
while  you  strike  and  release  the  fundamental  No.  1.  If  your 
piano  is  "  in  tune  "  you  will  probably  hear  No.  6  when  holding 
the  key  of  any  other  note  of  the  series. 

In  a  musical  tone  of  rich  quality  the  overtones  just  indi- 
cated are  present  in  their  fulness,  while  tone  that  is  weak  and 
thin  is  made  so  by  the  absence  or  weakness  of  the  overtones.  I 
have  stated  that  the  quality  of  a  tone  depends  on  the  form 
of  its  vibrations,  and  that  the  form  of  its  vibrations  is  deter- 
mined by  the  character  of  the  resonator.  We  can  now  amplify 
this  by  saying  that  while  the  relative  presence  or  absence  of 
overtones  determines  the  clang  or  color  of  a  tone,  their  pres- 
ence or  absence  is  determined  by  the  character  of  the  resonance. 

An  English  writer  records  that  he  was  once  in  the  garden 
at  the  back  of  a  house  while  a  gentleman  was  singing  in  the 
drawing-room.  The  tone  quality  was  good,  and  the  pitch  so 
unusually  high  he  hastened  to  learn  who  sang  tenor  high  C  so 
beautifully.  On  entering  the  room,  instead  of  the  tenor  he 
had  supposed,  he  found  the  singer  was  a  baritone,  and  the  note 
sung  was  only  middle   C.     The   fundamental  tone  had  not 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  47 

reached  him  in  the  garden  but  the  first  overtone,  an  octave 
above  it,  had.  Concrete  illustrations  will  make  the  subject 
still  clearer. 

Experiment  II 
If  an  ordinary  tuning-fork  when  vibrating  is  held  in  the 
hand  its  intrinsic  tone  is  too  weak  to  carry  far.  Rest  the  handle 
of  the  vibrating  fork  on  a  bare  table  or  the  panel  of  the  door, 
and  the  sound  is  greatly  augmented.  The  vibrations  of  the 
fork  have  by  contact  induced  similar  vibrations  in  the  wooden 
table  or  -panel  which  reinforce  the  primary  tone. 

Experiment  III 
Place  the  handle  of  the  vibrating  tuning-fork  on  a  small 
upturned  empty  box,  or,  better  still,  in  contact  with  the  body 
of  a  violin,  and  the  sound  will  be  stronger  than  in  the  previous 
experiment,  because  to  the  vibrations  of  the  wood  are  added  the 
vibrations  of  the  air  enclosed  in  the  box  or  the  violin.  To  the 
resonance  of  the  wood  has  been  added  the  sympathetic  reso- 
nance of  the  confined  air. 

Experiment  IV 

Hold  the  vibrating  fork  over  the  mouth  of  an  empty  fruit- 
jar  and  there  will  probably  be  little  or  no  reinforcement;  but 
gently  pour  in  water,  thereby  shortening  the  air  column  within 
the  jar,  and  the  sound  of  the  fork  will  be  gradually  intensified 
until  at  a  certain  point  it  becomes  quite  loud.  If  you  pour  in 
still  more  water  the  sound  will  gradually  become  feebler.  This 
shows  that  for  every  tone  an  air  column  of  a  certain  size  most 
powerfully  reinforces  that  tone. 

Experiment  V 

As  a  sequence  to  the  last  experiment,  take  two  fruit-jars 
of  the  same  size,  and,  having  learned  to  what  point  to  fill  them 
for  the  greatest  resonance,  fill  one  jar  (after  warming  it)  to 
the  required  point  with  hot  water,  the  other  with  cold  water, 


48  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

and  you  will  find  that  the  resonance  of  the  heated,  therefore 
expanded,  air  is  much  less  than  the  denser  air  of  the  cold  jar. 
This  shows  that  the  degree  of  density  of  the  air  affects  its 
resonance. 

Experiment  VI 

To  demonstrate  the  resonance  of  the  oral  cavity,  apart 
from  the  voice,  hold  a  vibrating  tuning-fork  before  the  open 
mouth.  Vary  the  shape  and  size  of  the  cavity  until  the  sound 
of  the  fork  suddenly  increases  in  volume,  showing  that  the  right 
adjustment  for  resonance  has  been  made.  This  intensification 
of  the  sound  is  due  to  the  vibration  of  the  air  in  the  mouth 
cavity,  together  with  the  sympathetic  vibration  of  the  sur- 
rounding walls. 

Experiment  VII 

As  an  illustration  of  sympathetic  resonance  without  contact, 
sing  forcibly  a  tone  that  is  within  easy  range,  and  at  the  same 
time  silently  hold  down  the  corresponding  key  of  the  piano.  On 
ceasing  to  sing  you  will  hear  the  tone  sounding  in  the  piano. 
This  may  be  further  illustrated  by  playing  on  the  open  string  of 
one  violin  while  another,  tuned  to  the  same  pitch,  rests  un- 
touched near  by.  Through  sympathetic  resonance  the  corre- 
sponding string  of  the  second  violin  will  vibrate  and  sound  its 
note.  The  louder  the  first  violin  is  played  the  louder  will 
be  the  sympathetic  tone  of  the  second. 

The  deep  pedal-tones  of  a  church  organ  often  induce  sympa- 
thetic resonance  that  may  be  felt  beneath  the  feet  of  the  lis- 
tener. One  writer,  a  singer,  speaks  of  living  in  the  same 
house  with  two  deaf-mutes.  He  lodged  on  the  first  floor, 
they  on  the  third.  One  day,  meeting  at  luncheon,  one  of  the 
deaf-mutes  told  the  singer  that  he  had  begun  practice  earlier 
that  morning  than  usual.  Surprised,  the  writer  asked  how 
he  knew.  The  deaf-mute  replied  that  they  always  knew  when 
he  was  singing  because  they  felt  the  floor  of  their  r«om 
vibrate. 

If  tone  vibrations  can  be  transmitted  so  readily  throughout 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  49 

a  house,  it  is  not  difficult  to  understand  how  easily  the  vibra- 
tions of  bone  and  tissue  can  be  transmitted  until  the  whole 
framework  of  the  body  responds  in  perceptible  vibration. 

It  is  said  that  Pascal  at  the  age  of  twelve  wrote  a  disserta- 
tion on  acoustics  suggested  by  his  childish  discovery  that  when 
a  metal  dish  was  struck  by  a  knife  the  resulting  sound  could 
be  stopped  by  touching  the  vibrating  dish  with  a  finger. 

With  this  in  mind  it  is  not  difficult  to  understand  how  com- 
pression of  the  human  instrument  by  the  pressure  of  tight 
clothing  without,  or  by  false  muscular  tension  within,  must 
interfere  with  its  free  vibration  and  so  rob  the  produced  tone 
of  just  so  much  of  perfection. 

From  these  experiments  we  can  understand  that,  while 
the  tones  of  the  voice  are  initiated  by  or  at  the  vocal  cords, 
the  volume  and  character"  of  the  tones  are  dependent  upon  reso- 
nance,— the  vibration  of  the  air  in  the  various  resonance 
chambers  of  the  body,  together  with  the  sympathetic  vibration 
of  the  walls  of  these  chambers  and  the  bony  framework  that 
supports  them. 

In  respect  to  resonance,  as  in  other  respects,  the  human 
voice  is  far  superior  to  all  other  instruments,  for  their 
resonators  are  fixed  and  unchanging,  while  the  human  resona- 
tor is  flexible, — in  Helmholtz's  words  "  admits  of  much  vari- 
ety of  form,  so  that  many  more  qualities  of  tone  can  be  thus 
produced  than  on  any  instrument  of  artificial  construction." 

We  are  now  prepared  to  realize  the  error  of  the  common 
notion  that  loudness  of  tone  is  due  entirely  to  increase  of  breath 
pressure,  on  the  vocal  cords.  Simple  experiments  with  the 
tuning-fork  have  shown  that  while  the  volume  of  sound  it 
gives  forth  is  due  in  part  to  the  amplitude  of  its  vibrations,  its 
loudness  is  chiefly  due  to  the  character  of  the  resonance  pro- 
vided for  it. 

The  larger  the  resonance  chamber  the  greater  is  its  rein- 
forcing capacity.  The  largest  air  chamber  in  the  body  is  the 
chest,  which  serves  not  only  as  a  wind-chest,  but  as  a  reso- 
nance chamber.  The  necessity  for  chest  expansion,  therefore, 
4 


50  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

is  not,  as  generally  supposed,  merely  for  air,  but  to  increase  its 

size  as  a  resonance  chamber. 

In  view  of  the  laws  of  tone,  how  great  is  the  common  error 

of  speaking  of  the  larynx  as  if  it  alone  were  the  vocal  organ, 

when  the  principal  vibrations  are  above  the  vocal  cords  in  the 

chambers  of  resonance! 

Since  the  musical  value,  the  beauty  of  tone,  as  well  as  its 

volume,  comes  only  from  right  use  of  the  resonator,  our  prin- 
cipal business  must  be  the  acquiring  control  of  the  vibratory 
rir  current  above  the  larynx.     The  acquirement  of  this  control 

involves  the  proper  focusing  or  placing  of  the  tone,  with  the 

free  uncramped  use  of  all  the  vocal  organs ;  power  will  then  take 

care  of  itself. 


CHAPTER  VII 
Head  and  Nasal  Resonance 

Of  the  four  component  factors  in  the  production  of  speech 
and  song,  the  first,  the  motor,  has  been  considered  in  Chapter 
III,  and  the  second,  the  vibrator,  in  Chapter  I. 

In  one  respect  there  is  marked  contrast  between  these  two 
factors.  Until  right  habits  are  so  thoroughly  formed  that 
the  singers  breathing  is  automatically  controlled,  conscious 
effort  is  necessary,  while  the  action  of  the  vibrator,  the  vocal 
cords,  is  involuntary,  not  subject  to  conscious  control. 

The  subtle  adjustments  of  the  delicate  mechanism  of  the 
larynx  belong  to  the  realm  of  reflex  action — to  a  spontaneous 
activity  that,  left  unhindered,  does  its  part  in  perfect  nicety. 

The  vocal  cords  must,  in  their  action,  be  free  from  the 
disturbance  of  uncontrolled  breath  action  below  them,  or  the 
hindrance  due  to  misdirected  effort  above  them.  To  direct  con- 
sciousness to  the  vocal  cords  is  to  cramp  them  and  prevent  that 
free  vibration  and  that  perfect  relaxation  of  the  throat  without 
which  pure  tone  and  true  pitch  are  impossible. 

As  a  surgeon  I  well  know  the  value  of  thorough  anatomical 
knowledge,  but  from  the  singer's  standpoint  I  cannot  too 
strongly  emphasize  the  unwisdom  of  directing  the  attention  of 
sensitively  organized  pupils  to  their  vocal  mechanism  by  means 
of  the  laryngoscope.  This  instrument  belongs  to  the  physician, 
not  to  the  singer. 

The  importance  of  the  third  factor,  the  resonator,  has  been 
considered  in  Chapter  V,  on  Resonance,  but  the  fourth  element 
in  voice  production,  articulation,  is  so  coordinated  to  resonance 
that  the  significance  and  primacy  of  the  latter  are  too  often 
overlooked. 

Placing  or  "  focusing  the  voice/'  I  have  found  to  be  chieflv 

51 


52  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

a  matter  of  control  and  use  of  the  resonator,  consisting  of 
chest,  pharynx,  mouth,  and  the  nasal  and  head  cavities. 

A  tone  lacking  in  resonance  is  ineffective, — devoid  of  carry- 
ing power, — is  diffuse  and  unfocused;  while  a  resonant  tone, 
no  matter  how  soft  dynamically,  has  carrying  power  and  is 
focused  in  its  vibration. 

Now  "voice  placing  "  depends  primarily  on  correct  vowel 

placing,  which  in_turn  depends  on  proper  adjustment  of  the 

resonators,  which  again  depends_cliiefly  on  the  positions_and 

^motions  of  the  organs  of  articuJation.     The  interdependence 

of  tone  quality  and  pronunciation  is  therefore  obvious. 

Constant  emphasis  must  be  laid  upon  the  fact  that^iocus- 
ing  a  tone  is  a  matter  of  resonance,  and  that  perhaps  the  most 
important  element  in  this  is  nasal  resonance.  In  this  country, 
particularly,  teachers  have,  in  their  desire  to  overcome  the  too 
common  nasal  twang,  mistakenly  sought  to  shut  out  the  nasal 
chamber  from  all  participation  in  speech  and  song. 

There  are  those  who,  partly  recognizing  the  importance  of 
head  resonance,  would  secure  it  while  ignoring  nasal  resonance. 
It  is  impossible  to  secure  head  resonance  in  this  fashion,  for 
it  is  only  through  free  nasal  resonance  that  the  coordinate 
resonance  in  the  air  sinuses  above  the  nasal  cavity  and  con- 
nected with  it  can  be  established. 

The  fear  of  nasal  twang  and  failure  to  distinguish  between 
it  and  true  nasal  resonance  has  been  the  stumbling  block. 
They  are  very  different, — one  is  to  be  shunned,  the  other  to  be 
cultivated.  The  first  is  an  obvious  blemish,  the  second  is  an 
important  essential  of  good  singing. 

Nasal  tones  are  caused  by  a  raised  or  stiffened  tongue,  a 
sagging  soft  palate,  a  stiffened  jaw,  or  by  other  rigidities  that 
prevent  free  tone  emission  and  which  at  the  same  time — note 
this — prevent  true  nasal  resonance. 

As  tone,  or  vocalized  breath,  issues  from  the  larynx,  it  is 
divided  into  two  streams  or  currents  by  the  pendent  veil  of  the 
soft  palate.  One  stream  flows  directly  into  the  mouth,  where 
it  produces  oral  resonance;  the  other  stream  passes  through 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  53 

the  nasopharynx  into  the  hollow  chambers  of  the  face  and  head, 
inducing  nasal  and  head  resonance. 

It  is  commonly  supposed  that  tone  passing  in  whole  or 
in  part  through  the  nasal  cavities  must  be  nasal  in  quality; 
whereas  a  tone  of  objectionable  nasal  quality  can  be  sung 
equally  well  with  the  nostrils  either  closed  or  open. 

Browne  and  Behnke  state  the  matter  thus :  "  However  tight 
the  closure  of  the  soft  palate  may  be,  it  is  never  sufficient  to 
prevent  the  air  in  the  nasal  cavities  being  thrown  into  co- 
vibrations  with  that  in  the  mouth.  These  co-vibrations  are, 
in  fact,  necessary  for  a  certain  amount  of  the  brilliancy  of  the 
voice,  and  if  they  are  prevented  by  a  stoppage  of  the  posterior 
openings  of  the  nasal  passages,  the  voice  will  sound  dull  and 
muffled.  This  is  of  course  due  to  an  absence  of  nasal  reso- 
nance, and  must  on  no  account  be  described  as  nasal  twang. 
It  is,  indeed,  the  very  opposite  of  it." 

Nasal  tone  quality  and  nasal  resonance  must  not  be  con- 
founded. A  nasal  tone  is  constricted,  while  a  tone  with  nasal 
resonance  is  free.  Again,  a  tone  may  be  unmarred  by  the  nasal 
quality,  yet  if  it  lacks  nasal  resonance  it  lacks  vibrancy,  carry- 
ing power. 

Nasal  tones  are  produced,  not  because  the  vibrations  pass 
through  the  nasal  passage,  but  because  they  are  obstructed  in 
their  passage  through  them.  A  nasal  tone  is  always  a  cramped 
tone,  due  to  impediment,  tension,  or  muscular  contraction, 
particularly  in  the  nasopharynx. 

The  congestion  and  consequent  thickening  of  the  mucous 
membrane  lining  the  cavities  of  the  nose  and  head,  resulting 
from  a  cold,  make  the  tone  muffled  and  weak,  owing  to  the 
inability  of  the  parts  to  respond  to  the  vibrations  and  add  to 
the  tone  normal  nasal  resonance. 

The  elder  Booth  (Junius  Brutus),  about  1838,  suffered  from 
a  broken  nose  which  defaced  his  handsome  visage  and  spoiled 
his  splendid  voice.  His  disability  was  so  great  that  after- 
ward he  seldom  played.  That  the  cause  of  this  impairment  of 
Booth's  voice  was  due  to  the  contraction   and  more  or  less 


54  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

complete  obstruction  of  the  nasal  passages  is  too  evident  to 
call  for  comment. 

Many  singers  have  sweet  but  characterless  voices  that  lack 

the  fulness,  power,  and  ring  they  might  have  because  they  fail 

to  avail  themselves  of  the  augmenting  power  of  the  resonance 

cavities.     Thgjsinger  must  learn  to  habitually  use  all  of  the 

-^Jxr^sonance  cavities   and  use   them  simultaneously. 

Lilli  Lehmann,  in  Row  to  Sing,  says  that,  "  although  the 
nasal  sound  can  be  exaggerated, — which  rarely  happens, — it 
can  be  much  neglected, — something  that  very  often  happens." 
The  context  makes  clear  that  what  in  the  English  translation 
of  the  great  singer's  book  is  called  "  nasal  sound  "  is  exactly 
what  we  term  nasal  resonance. 

After  charging  the  monotonous  quality  or  lack  of  color 
in  the  voice  of  a  famous  opera  star  to  lack  of  nasal  resonance, 
Madame  Lehmann  speaks  of  the  consummate  art  of  Marcella 
Sembrich  who  "  in  recent  years  appears  to  have  devoted  very 
special  study  to  nasal  resonance,  whereby  her  voice,  especially 
in  the  middle  register,  has  gained  greatly  in  warmth."  She 
says  further  that  nasal  resonance  "  cannot  be  studied  enough. 
It  ought  always  to  be  employed."  "  How  often,"  she  says, 
"  have  I  heard  young  singers  say,  '  I  no  longer  have  the  power 
to  respond  to  the  demands  made  upon  me,'  whereas  the 
trouble  lies  only  in  the  insufficient  use  of  the  resonance  of  the 
head  cavities." 

From  the  foregoing,  the  conclusion  follows  that  the  head 
vibrations  are  notxonly  an  essential  element,  but  that  nasal 
resonance^j^a  mosr^nipoTtant  element  in  imparting  to  tone 
^  its  Jipitfiance  and  carrying  power,  ('without  thought  of  the 
mechanism  of  how  nasal  resonance  i)s  produced,  the  singer  has 
control  over  it  by  direct  influence  of  the  will.  The  tones,  low 
as  well  as  high,  should  seem  to  start  in  the  nose  and  head, 
and  the  vibrations  of  the  perfect  tone  can  be  plainly  felt  upon 
any  part  of  the  nose  and  head.  Without  the  head  vibrations 
no  tone  can  be  perfect,  for  nothing  else  will  compensate  for  the 
lack    of    these.     Vocal    organs    used    as    here    described    will 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  55 

suffer  no  fatigue  from  reasonable  use;  hoarseness  will  be  to 
them  a  thing  unknown,  and  "  minister's  sore  throat "  an  un- 
heard of  complaint.  Not  only  is  faulty  voice  production  a 
source  of  great  discomfort,  but  it  is  the  cause  of  many  diseases 
of  the  chest,  throat,  and  head. 

The  gentle  practice  in  easy  range  of  the  exercises  given  in 
the  chapter  following,  will  do  much  to  restore  a  normal  con- 
dition. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Placing  the  Voice 

What  is  called  "  placing  the  voice/'  or  "  tone  production  " 
or  "  focusing  the  voice  "  is,  as  already  stated  in  the  previous 
chapter,  chiefly  a  matter  of  resonance — of  control  of  the 
resonator.  Now  vocalization  is  largely  vowelization,  and  vocal 
tones  are  a  complex  of  sound  and  resonance.  The  character 
of  a  vowel  is  given  it  by  the  shape  of  the  vowel  chamber ;  and 
the  shaping  of  the  vowel  chamber  depends  upon  delicate  adjust- 
ment of  the  movable  parts, — jaw,  lips,  cheeks,  tongue,  veil  of 
the  palate,  and  pharynx.  While  this  adjustment  is  made 
through  more  or  less  conscious  muscular  action,  the  parts  must 
never  be  forced  into  position;  local  effort  to  this  end  will  in- 
variably defeat  itself.  The  important  consideration  in  all  voice 
movements  is  a  flexible,  natural  action  of  all  the  parts,  and  all 
the  voice  movements  are  so  closely  allied,  so  sympathetically 
related,  that  if  one  movement  is  constrained  the  others  cannot 
be  free.  It  is  a  happy  fact  that  the  right  way  is  the  easiest 
way,  and  a  fundamental  truth  that  right  effort  is  the  result 
of  right  thought.  From  these  axiomatic  principles  we  deduce 
the  very  first  rule  for  the  singer  and  speaker, — THINK  the 
right  tone,  mentally  picture  it ;  then  concentrate  upon  the 
picture,  not  upon  the  mechanism. 

WHEN  IS  THE  VOCAL  ACTION  CORRECT? 

There  are  two  sound  criterions  for  judging  the  correctness 
of  vocal  action, — first,  the  ease  of  the  action,  its  naturalness,  its 
flexibility.  As  Mills  concisely  states  it :  "  He  sings  or  speaks 
best  who  attains  the  end  with  the  least  expenditure  of  energy." 
Second,  the  beauty  of  the  result.  Harsh,  unlovely  tones  are 
a  sure  indication  of  misplaced  effort,  of  tension  somewhere, 

56 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  57 

of  wrong  action.  On  the  other  hand  the  nearer  the  tones 
approach  to  perfection  the  closer  does  the  organism  come  to 
correct  action.  Beauty  of  tone,  then,  is  the  truest  indication 
of  proper  vocal  action. 

Judgment  as  to  the  relative  beauty  of  a  tone  depends  on 
the  training  of  the  ear.  Pupils  should  habitually  listen  to  their 
own  voices,  for  between  the  hearing  and  feeling  of  the  voice  a 
knowledge  of  progress  can  be  obtained.  The  function  of  the 
ear  in  governing  voice  production  is  thus  stated  by  Prof.  Mills : 
"  The  nervous  impulses  that  pass  from  the  ear  to  the  brain  are 
the  most  important  guides  in  determining  the  necessary  move- 
ments." Mr.  Ffrangcon-Davies  maintains  that,  "  The  training 
of  the  ear  is  one-half  of  the  training  of  the  voice."  The  stu- 
dent should  improve  every  opportunity  to  hear  the  best  singers 
and  speakers,  for  both  consciously  and  unconsciously  we  learn 
much  by  imitation.     Good  examples  are  often  our  best  teachers. 

Keeping  well  in  mind  the  principles  stated  above,  we  are 
now  ready  to  begin  their  application  in  placing  the  voice — that 
is,  in  setting  it  free — not  by  learning  some  strange  and  difficult 
action,  but  by  cultivating  normal  action. 

EXERCISES   FOR   PRACTICE 

The  following  exercises  are  designed  for  the  primary  de- 
velopment of  a  correct  tone  and  for  the  test  of  the  perfection 
of  every  tone  at  every  stage  of  development.  They  are  based 
upon  the  assumption  that  all  tones  of  the  voice  should  be 
focused  and  delivered  precisely  alike.  Their  use  should  consti- 
tute a  part  of  the  daily  practice  of  the  singer  or  speaker. 

I  give  but  few  exercises  for  each  point  to  be  gained.  In- 
telligent teachers  and  pupils  will  add  an  infinite  variety  to 
suit  each  case,  but  the  exercises  given  appear  to  me  to  be  the 
best  for  initial  practice.  It  is  important  that  each  exercise 
in  its  order  shall  be  thoroughly  mastered  before  taking  up  the 
next.  Only  in  this  way  can  rapid  progress  be  made,  for  it  is 
not  the  multiplicity  of  exercises,  but  the  thoughtful  application 
of  principles  in  the  few,  that  leads  to  results. 


58 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 


The  sound  of  hng  will  always  place  the  voice  in  proper  focus 
by  developing  the  resonance  of  the  nose  and  head.  The  thin 
bones  of  the  nose  will  first  respond  to  the  sound  and  after 
practice  the  vibrations  can  be  felt  on  any  part  of  the  head  and 
even  more  distinctly  on  the  low  than  on  the  high  tones.  To 
attain  this,  repeat  the  sound  hung  times  without  number,  pro- 
longing the  ng  sound  at  least  four  counts.  To  insure  the 
proper  course  of  the  vowel  sounds  through  the  nasal  passages, 
follow  hung  with  the  vowel  ee,  as  this  vowel  is  more  easily 
focused  than  any  other ;  then  with  oo,  oh,  aw  and  ah. 

Ah  is  by  far  the  most  difficult  sound  to  focus  and  should 
never  be  used  for  initial  practice.  Much  valuable  time  has 
been  lost  by  the  custom  of  using  this  sound  at  first.  It  should 
come  last. 

The  h  is  chosen  to  introduce  the  vowel  sound  because  in  the 
preparation  to  produce  the  sound  of  the  letter  h  the  epiglot'/h  is 
wide  open  and  the  vocal  cords  entirely  relaxed,  and  because  less 
change  of  the  tongue  is  required  when  the  vowel  sound  follows. 

Preliminary   Exercise 


Practise  this  softly  on  any  pitch  easy  for  the  voim. 
a>     /?\    b)     <?\     c>     fr    d)      /?\    e)     ^n     aj    /TWc 


Hiing-ee.    Hung-oo.    Hung-oh.    Hung-aw.   Hung-ah.    Hung-ee. 


Begin  the  tone  quietly  on  an  easy  pitch  and  continue  it 
softly  to  the  end.  Later,  after  these  exercises  are  mastered  on 
one  pitch,  use  every  note  within  the  easy  compass  of  the  voice. 
Leave  stridency  of  tone  to#re  locust.  litis  no  part  of  a- per- 
fect tone.  It  never  appeared  in  the  voices' of  the  most  famous 
singers.  Those  who  allowed  themselves  to  use  it  passed  off  the 
stage  early  in  life.  Much  better  results  will  be  obtained  by 
practising   without   any   accompaniment.     The   sound   of   the 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  59 

piano  or  other  instrument  distracts  the  pupil,  prevents  both 
pupil  and  teacher  from  hearing  the  voice,  and  hinders  progress. 

IMPORTANT    DIRECTIONS 

The  manner  in  which  Exercise  I  and  those  that  follow 
is  practised  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  Therefore  carefully 
note  and  apply  the  following: 

1.  Fully  pronounce  the  word  hung  (u  as  in  stung)  at  once, 
and  prolong  the  tone,  not  on  the  vowel  sound  but  on  the  ng 
sound.  This  establishes  the  proper  head  and  nasal  resonance 
at  the  very  beginning  of  the  exercise. 

2.  In  passing  from  ng  to  ee  be  very  careful  not  to  change 
the  initial  focus  or  lose  the  sensation  of  nasal  and  head  reso- 
nance. Do  not  therefore  move  the  lips  or  the  chin.  The  only 
change  at  this  point  is  the  slight  movement  of  the  tongue 
required  to  pronounce  ee,  which  must  be  a  pure  vowel  without 
a  trace  of  the  preceding  g. 

3.  In  passing  from  ee  to  oo,  from  oo  to  oh,  and  so  on,  do 
so  with  the  least  possible  movement  of  lips  and  chin.  The 
initial  sensation  of  nasal  and  head  resonance  must  not  be  lost. 

4.  Each  vowel  sound  must  be  distinct  in  enunciation  and 
pure  in  quality.  Avoid  blurring  one  with  the  other.  Give 
each  its  true  individuality. 

5.  As  jewels  of  different  hue  hung  on  a  string,  so  must  this 
exercise  be  the  stringing  of  vowels  on  a  continuous  stream  of 
sound. 

Exercise  I 

TO   ESTABLISH   NASAL  AND  HEAD  RESONANCE 

This  is  an  exercise  for  focusing  or  placing  the  voice  and 
developing  the  vibrations  of  the  nasal  and  head  cavities,  the 
most  essential  parts  of  the  resonant  apparatus.  If  the  nostrils 
are  kept  fully  open,  no  nasal  twang  will  be  heard.  The  strength 
of  the  tone  will  correspond  to  the  force  of  the  vibrations  of 
the  nose  and  head,  Avhich  can  be  plainly  felt  by  resting  the 
finger  lightly  upon  the  side  of  the  nose.     The  vibrations  may 


60 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 


eventually  be  plainly  felt,  on  the  top  and  back  of  the  head. 
Attack,  that  is,  begin  the  tone,  softly  and  on  no  account 
force  it  in  the  least.  Pronounce  the  full  word  at  once,  prolong 
the  ng  four  counts  as  indicated,  and  sing  the  five  vowel  sounds 
on  a  continuous,  unbroken  tone.  Articulate  entirely  with  the 
lips  and  without  moving  the  under  jaw.  In  this,  as  in  the 
following  exercises,  keep  the  under  jaw  relaxed  and  open  the 
mouth  so  as  to  separate  the  teeth  as  wide  apart  as  is  con- 
sistent with  the  action  of  the  lips.  See  also  the  illustrations 
of  proper  lip  position  given  at  the  close  of  Chapter  II. 

Practice  this  exercise  on  any  pitch  easy  for  the  voice. 

a)  b) 


Hung-  ee-oo-oh-aw  -  ah      Hung  -  ee-oo-oh-aw    -    ah. 
c)  d;  etc. 


^^ 


■  |J  J  J  J  |  ■■  J 


Hung  -  ee- oo-oh -aw  -  ah   Hung-  ee-  oo-oh-aw  -  ah 
b) 


Hung -ee- oo -oh -aw  -  ah.  Hung  >ee-  oo-oh-aw  -  ah 
c)  d)  ete- 


Hung- ee- oo-oh -aw    -  ah.     Hung- ee-oo-oh-aw    -  ah. 

Repeat  this  many  times  until  the  nose  and  head  vibrations 
are  fully  recognized  and  established.  After  mastery  of  this 
exercise  is  acquired,  any  words  ending  in  ng  may  be  repeated. 
The  word  noon  sung  quietly  on  each  note  of  the  voice  with  the 
final  consonant  prolonged  will  be  found  helpful. 

EXERCISES  FOR  SPEAKERS 

When  the  placing  of  the  voice  is  accomplished  on  the  one 
tone  (Exercise  I),  the  speaker  can  go  on  with  practice  in 
reading  and  reciting,  allowing  the  voice  to  change  its  pitch 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 


61 


at  its  will,  only  being  careful  that  all  the  tones  are  alike  in 
quality. 

A  profitable  exercise  for  speakers  is  to  pronounce  any  word 

or  syllable  ending  with  ng,  as  ming,  ling,  sing,  ring,  ting,  and 

follow  it  with  some  familiar  lines  in  a  monotone,  being  sure 

that  the  tone  is  the  same  and  produces  the  same  vibrations  in 

he  nose  and  head. 

In  the  case  of  a  person  already  a  public  speaker,  this  new 

regime  may  not  immediately  manifest  itself  in  performance, 

lbut  gradually   the   right  principles   will   assume   control,   and 

speaking  be  done  with  ease  and  effectiveness.     Continual  daily 

practice  of  exercises  should  be  kept  up. 

If  a  speaker  has  a  musical  ear  and  some  musical  knowledge, 
he  will  derive  great  benefit  by  following  out  the  practice  of  the 
exercises  for  singers.  In  no  way  can  the  voice  for  speaking 
be  improved  so  rapidly  or  decisively  as  by  musical  training. 


Exercise  II 

TO  ESTABLISH  HEAD  AND  NASAL  BESONANCE 

As  in  Exercise  I,  sing  softly,  seeking  purity  of  vowel  sounds 
and  quality  of  tone.  Fully  pronounce  hung  at  once,  prolong- 
ing the  ng  four  counts  as  indicated.  Pass  from  one  vowel  to 
the  next  with  the  least  possible  change  in  the  position  of  the 
lips  and  chin.  The  stream  of  sound  is  to  be  unbroken,  the 
tone  focus  unchanged,  and  the  sensation  of  resonance  in  the 
upper  chambers  continuous. 


I 


a) 


Hung  -  ee-oo-oh-aw  -ah.    Hung  -  ee-oo-oh-aw  -  ah 


Hung  -  ee-oo-oh-aw -  ah.    Hung  -  ee-oo-oh-aw  -  ah 


62  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 


sa 


Hung  -  ee-oo-oh-aw-  ah.        Hung  -  ee-oo-oh-aw  -  ah. 
ci  ^  _  ^_  d)^ — ^  _  etc. 


3 


v\,  rrrirrrrrrrriMifTnrrrrrrrrB 

Hung   -  ee-oo-oh-aw  -  ah.         Hung  -  ee-oo-oh-aw  -  ah 


Exercise   III 

UPPEB    RESONANCE    CONTINUED 


Follow  the  directions  for  Exercise  I.  Sing  quietly  in  a 
pitch  that  is  easy  for  the  voice,  and  modulate  up  or  down  by 
half  steps. 


Hung-  ee-oo-oh-aw  -   ah.    Hung-   ee-oo-oh-aw  -  ah. 
c)         _       _    _    _    —  d>       ^4      ^  an   M   *■        «fc 


Hung  i  ee-oo-oh-aw  -  ah.    Hung  -.ee-oo-oh-aw  -  ah. 

a)  ---,--  —  -.  b) 


^jWJmflmirYri^crcriri 


Hung  -  ee-oo-oh-aw  -  ah.    Hung  -  ee-oo-oh-aw  -  ah. 
c)  d)  „ .  «/ft 


n,  rfflffffrrrr  I  Mr  tf  irMffff  I  r 


Hung    -  ee-oo-oh-aw   -   ah.     Hung-  ee-oo-oh-aw  -  ah. 
Exercise    IV 

UPPER    RESONANCE    CONTINUED 

The  last  exercise  carried  the  voice  an  interval  of  a  third ; 
this  carries  the  voice  an  interval  of  a  fifth.  Follow  carefully 
the  directions  of  Exercise  I.  Be  sure  to  pronounce  hung  at 
once,  prolonging  the  tone  not  on  the  vowel  but  on  the  ng. 
Sing  softly.     Vary  the  pitch  to  suit  the  voice. 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING         63 
a)  hi) 


Hung-ee-oo  -   oh -aw   -    ah.    Bung- ee-oo  -  oh- aw  -   ah- 
.b)  bi) 


-a — m^  *- — mj?-^ — zr 
Bung-  ee- oo  -  oh -aw  .  ah.    Hung-ee-oo  -  oh- aw  .  ah 


O 


,    cl)  _  e/c- 


Hung-  ee-oo  -  oh- aw  -   ah.  Hung-ee-oo  -  oh- aw  -  ah. 
a)  ai) 


w\'\rid\riti\\'\J\ffrt\&rr\>)\ 


Hung-ee-oo  -   oh -aw   -    ah     Hung-ee-oo-  ph- aw    ••ah- 
b>  -.  -.  »>l) 


'■Milt  I  igcriffcfiririCTCricrCrir 


Hung-  ee-oo  -  oh- aw  -  ah.     Hung-ee-oo  -  oh- aw  .   ah. 


Hung-  ee .00  .  oh- aw  .  ah.  Hung-ee-oo-  oh- aw  •    ah.' 


Exercise  V 

UPPEB    RESONANCE    CONTINUED 

The  last  exercise  carried  the  voice  an  interval  of  a  fifth, 
this  one  has  a  range  of  a  sixth,  while  Exercise  VI  has  a 
range  of  an  octave.  Carefully  follow  the  Important  Directions 
on  page  60. 

Sing  softly  in  a  pitch  that  is  easy  for  the  voice. 

a) 


i 


in  if  Jj  J  if  (ft  ..  irJJJ  g 

Hung- ee-oo- oh- aw-  ah  Hung- ee-oo-oh-aw  -  ah. 

1  c)  d). 


..  lr  JJJIMI"1'-  °  IN.' Jlf'g 

Hung- ee-oo-oh-aw-  ah.  Hung  -  ee-oo-oh-aw  ■  ah. 


64  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

e)  f)  etc 


P 


Huog-ee-oo-oh-avv;  ah  Hung-ee- oo-ohaw- ah 


Hung  ee- oo-ohaw.  ah       Hung  ee-oo  oh  aw  ah 
c)  d) 


g  ■  ir ^ J -1  ir > &i> "  fr^nf^ 


Hungeeoo-ohaw  •  ah  Hung   eeoo-oh-aw  .-ah 

e)  l>  etc 


■M«"irrJrir'iiy'°irrrrir<pAt 


Hung-ee-oo-oh-aw.  ah  Hung-ee-oo-oh-aw-ah 

Exercise   VI 

TO  ENLARGE  THE  THROAT  AND  THUS  MAGNIFY  THE  TONE 

Pronounce  the  word  hung  at  once,  opening  the  mouth  well. 
Prolonging  the  ng  sound  as  indicated  will  insure  the  proper 
focus. 

Sing  the  five  vowel  sounds  throughout  the  scale  as  indi- 
cated.    At  first  practise  only  on  scales  that  are  in  easy  range. 

etc*. 


1.  Hung  •  ee 

2.  Hung  -oo. 

3.  Hung- oh _ 

4.  Hung. aw. 
6.  Hung .  ah  . 

a) 


Hung-ee  . 
Hung-oo  . 
Hung- oh  . 
Hung -aw. 
Hung -ah . 


'^"ar  i*P^3jij m#  nrafflt 


etc 


1.  Hung-ee. 

2.  Hung-oo  _ 
8.  Hung  -  oh  . 

4.  Hung- aw. 

5.  Hung -ah. 


Hung-  ee 
Hung- oo . 
Hung-oh  . 
Hung-aw. 
Hung- ah  . 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 


65 


I.Hung-ee  , 
2.  Hung-oo  . 
3.Hung-oh  . 
4.Hung-aw. 
6-Hung-ah  . 


1.  Hung-ee 

2.  Hung-oo 

3.  Hung-oh 

4.  Hung- aw 

5.  Hung- ah 


Hung-ee 

Hung-oo 

Hung-oh 

Hung-a\v. 

Hung-ah. 


Hung-ee 
Hung-oo  . 
Hung-oh  . 
Hung- aw. 
Hung-ah  . 


Exercise  VII 

FOE   PRODUCTION   OF   THE   VOWEL   SOUNDS    IN   PROPER   FOCUS 

Produce  the  hung  at  once,  and  add  the  vowel.  Be  sure 
that  the  vowel  sound  follows  the  same  course  as  the  "ng"  sound 
which  precedes  it,  and  produces  the  same  sensation  in  the  nose. 

The  vowels  are  arranged  in  the  order  chosen  because  ee 
is  the  most  easily  focused  while  ah  is  by  far  the  most  difficult 
to  focus,  and  hence  the  worst  possible  sound  for  initial  prac- 
tice.    Think  of  the  tone  as  being  made  in  the  nose  and  head. 

Let  there  be  no  break  or  stopping  of  the  tone  when  passing 
from  the  ng  sound  to  the  vowel.  Simply  change  the  tone  into 
the  vowel  desired  by  the  proper  change  in  the  articulating 
organs. 

Sing  the  five  vowel  sounds  connectedly,  being  sure  that 
each  vowel  is  correctly  placed  before  passing  to  the  next.  The 
proper  use  of  the  lips  will  aid  greatly  in  focusing  the  vowels. 
Start  with  the  scale  that  ir,  w  comfortable  range. 


Hung  -  ee  -  oo  -  oh-aw  -  ah  Hung  -  ee  -  oo-oh-aw     ah. 


66           RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 
c) __  d) 


Hung  -  ee  -  on  .  <ih  aw  -  ah  Hung  -  ee  -  oo-oh-aw  -  ah 


Hung  -  ee  •  oo  -  oh -aw  •  ah  Hung  -  ee  -  oo  -oh -aw  -  ah. 

Exercise  VIII 

TO   ENLARGE   THE   THROAT   AND   FOCUS    THE   VOWELS 

Open  the  mouth  well  and  be  sure  that  the  vowel  sounds  are 
delivered  as  in  the  previous  exercises ;  this  will  insure  largeness 
with  proper  resonance. 

When  practising  this  exercise,  be  careful,  as  with  the  others, 
that  each  vowel  sound  in  its  order  is  correctly  given  before 
passing  to  the  next.  Only  in  this  way  can  rapid  progress  be 
made. 

The  words  bing,  sing,  ting,  fling,  swing  are  excellent  to  use 
for  further  practice. 


1.  Hung  -  ee. 

2.  Hung  -  oo  . 

3.  Hung  -  oh  . 

4.  Hung  -  aw 
6.  Hung  -  ah 


Hung  -  ee . 
Hung  -  oo_ 
Hung  -  oh . 
Hung  .  aw. 
Hung  -  ah 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  67 

a) b)         .r .      etc. 


1.  Hung  -  ee  _ 

2.  Hung  -  oo  . 

3.  Hung  -  oh_ 

4.  Hung  -  aw. 
6-  Hung  -  ah 


Hung  -  ee  _ 
Hung  -  oo_ 
Hung  -  oh  . 
Hung  -  aw . 
Hung  -  ah . 


Exercise  IX 

QUICK  CHANGING  NOTES   WITHOUT  CHANGING  RESONANCE 

The  important  point  in  this  flexible  exercise  is  to  keep  the 
vowel-color,  the  focus  or  resonance,  unchanged  throughout  the 
phrase.  Begin  quietly,  give  the  ng  freedom  and  the  upper 
resonance  will  adjust  itself.  This  phrase  is  longer  than  in 
previous  exercises;  be  sure  then  that  you  still  have  breath  at 
the  end — breath  enough  to  sing  further.  Sing  quietly.  Pitch 
the  exercise  to  suit  the  voice. 


1.  Hung-ee  . 
2  Hung-oo  . 

3.  Hung- oh  . 

4.  Hung- aw . 
6.  Hung-ah 


1.  Hung-ee  _ 

2.  Hung-oo  . 

3.  Hung- oh. 

4.  Hung- aw 
6.  Hung-ah  . 


Exercise  X 


FOR  AGILITY 


Sing  each  vowel  sound  separately  before  passing  to  the 
next.  Be  sure  to  start  each  vowel  sound  in  purity  and  main- 
tain it  without  change.     Pitch  the  exercise  to  suit  the  voice. 


68           RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 
a) _     b)  ^ -» — ^       c) 


lEe  . 
2.0o. 

3  Oh. 

4  Aw. 

5.  Ah. 


Ee  . 

Oo. 

Oh 

Aw. 

Ah 


Ee  . 
Oo. 
Oh. 
Aw. 
Ah. 


Ee,  etc 


Ee,  etc 


dS^jy^^i  im^^ 


Ee,etc. 


Ee,  etc. 


Ee,etc. 


For  variants  on  the  above  use  as  initial  consonants  b,  p,  m, 
f,  v,  d,  h,  n,  t,  and  I. 

Exercise   XI 

TO   DEVELOP   THE  USE   OF   THE   LIPS   AND   UNDER   JAW 

When  practising  this  exercise  protrude  the  lips  and  raise 
them  toward  the  nose  as  far  as  possible ;  also  make  an  effort  to 
enlarge  and  widen  the  nostrils.  This  exercise  may  be  prac- 
tised more  quickly  than  the  preceding,  but  never  at  the  expense 
of  clearness  of  vowel  distinction.  Carry  the  exercise  higher 
or  lower,  and  in  different  keys,  to  suit  individual  voices.  With 
a  slight  initial  accent  sing  each  two-measure  section  smoothly 
as  one  phrase.  Avoid  accenting  each  separate  vowel  sound. 
To  do  so  would  produce  a  series  of  jerks. 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 


69 


Ee-oo-oh-aw  -  ah       Ee-oo-oh-aw  -  ah.   .    Ee-oo-oh-aw  .  ah 


Ee-oo-oh-aw  -   ah       Ee-oo-  oh  -aw    -  ah        Ee-ou   oh  -  aw   -  ah 


Ee-oo-oh-aw  -  ah.      Ee-oo-oh-aw  -  ah.       Ee-oo-oh-aw  -   ah. 


After  practising  the  above  as  written  modify  it  as  follows ; 


1.  Bee 

2.  Pee 

3.  Mee 

4.  Fee 

5.  Vee 

6.  Dee 

7.  Kee 

8.  Nee 

9.  Tee 
10.  Lee 


boo 
poo  • 
moo 
foo 
voo  • 
doo  • 
koo  • 
noo 
too   ■ 
loo 


boh 

poh 

mob 

foh 

voh 

doh 

koh 

noh 

toh 

loh 


baw 

paw 

maw 

faw 

vaw 

daw 

kaw 

naw 

taw 

law 


-bah. 

-  pah. 

-  mah. 

-  fah. 

-  vah. 
-dah. 
-kah. 

-  nah. 
-tah. 
-lah. 


Exercise   XII 

FOR  FACILITY  AND   QUICK   VOWEL  CHANGE 

Be  careful  not  to  blur  the  vowel  sounds ;  each  must  be 
distinct  and  pure,  and  the  change  from  one  to  the  next  must 
be  made  with  a  minimum  of  effort  and  without  disturbing 
the  focus  of  the  tone. 


70  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 


Ee    -    oo    -    oh-  aw    -    ah.     Ee  -    oo    -   oh  -  aw     -    ah. 


4.  a) 


Ee  -  oo    -    oh  -  aw    -    ah.  Ee  -  oo     -    oh  -  aw    -    ah. 


The  divisions  (a  and  b)  of  each  of  the  above  four  variants 
may  be  regarded  as  distinct  exercises  or  not.  For  further  prac- 
tice use  as  initial  consonants  any  or  all  of  the  following:  b,  p, 
w,  f,  v,  d,  h,  n,  t,  and  I. 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 
Exercise  XIII 

ASCENDING   AND    DESCENDING    SCALE 


71 


As  in  the  previous  exercises  practise  quietly  with  unvarying 
focus  and  aim  to  finish  the  phrase  with  breath  unexhausted. 
Pitch  the  exercise  to  suit  the  voice. 


Hung  -  ee 
Hung  -  oo 
Hung  -  oh 
Hung  -  aw 
Hung  -  ah 

b) 


Hung  -  ee 
Hung  -  oo 
Hung  -  oh 
Hung  -  aw 
Hung  -  ah 


Exercise  XIV 

THE  LONG  SCALE 


Sing  this  scale  exercise  in  medium  range,  without  blurring 
either  the  vowel  sounds  or  the  notes. 


etc 


1.  Hung-ee  . 
2.Hung-oo  . 
3Hung-oh  . 
4.  Hung-aw. 
5.Hung-ah . 


I.Hung-  ee  . 
2  Hung  - oo  . 

3.  Hung  -  oh  . 

4.  Hung  -  aw. 

5.  Hung  -  ah  . 


72 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 


1  Hung  -  ee  . 
2.Hung-oo  . 

3.  Hung  -  oh  . 

4.  Hung -aw. 
6.  Hung  -  ah  . 


b) 

1      3    -■ 

Ef-  ^ 

p&  > 

»r 

*/■<•. 

^ 

3 

1.  Hung-  ee  . 
2.Hung-oo  . 
8.  Hung- oh  . 
4.  Hung-  aw. 
6.  Hung-  ah  . 


The  exercises  thus  far  given  have  employed  the  five 
vowel  sounds  found  most  helpful  in  gaining  a  free  resonance. 
These  should  now  be  supplemented  by  the  use  of  all  the  vowel 
sounds.  It  is  obvious  that  unless  the  singer  is  at  home  with 
every  vowel  and  on  any  pitch  in  his  vocal  range  perfect  pro- 
nunciation is  impossible.  In  Chapter  II  a  Scale  of  Vowel 
Sounds  is  given.     For  convenience  it  is  repeated  here: 


nee,  nit,  net,  nay,  nair,  nat,  nigh,  Nu/t,  nut,  nav,  ner,  nut,  no,  nook,  noo. 
12      3       4        5        6        7        8       7'       6'      5'      4'     3'       2'        1' 

Having  so  far  mastered  the  previous  exercises  as  to  establish 
a  free  bead  and  nasal  resonance,  take  the  Scale  of  Vowel  Sounds 
and  apply  it  to  the  now  familiar  exercises. 

Next,  as  suggested  in  Exercise  X,  use  as  initial  consonants 
in  connection  with  the  Vowel  Scale  the  consonants  b,  p,  m,  f, 
v,  d,  Tc,  n,  t  and  I. 

Keep  before  you  the  formula  that  articulation  should  seem 
to  be  done  entirely  with  and  through  the  upper  lip;  i.e.,  the 
thought  should  be  that  the  words  are  projected  through  the 
upper  lip. 

When  by  practise  of  the  exercises  given  the  voice  has  been 
focused   and    resonance   established   without    any  instrument, 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  73 

scale  exercises  and  simple  vocalises  may  be  taken  up  with  or 
without  the  piano. 

In  practising  scales  start  each  a  semitone  higher  until  the 
easy  limit  of  the  voice  is  reached,  and  no  farther.  Gain  will 
be  more  rapid  by  working  to  deliver  the  tones  within  the  voice's 
normal  compass.  Then  when  occasional  effort  is  made  the 
organs  will  be  found  ready  to  deliver  the  highest  pitch  of 
which  the  voice  is  capable. 

When  sufficient  progress  has  been  made  in  mastering  the 
execution  of  scales  and  easy  vocalises,  the  pupil  will  be  ready  to 
begin  the  study  of  songs.  If  one  foregoes  the  singing  of  songs 
during  the  few  weeks  occupied  with  primary  lessons,  results 
are  obtained  much  more  quickly. 

While  practising  exercises  or  songs  the  less  the  pianoforte 
is  used,  except  to  compare  the  pitch,  the  better.  Such  practice 
increases  the  confidence  of  the  performer.  The  instrument  pre- 
vents the  singer's  listening  to  the  tone  he  is  producing  and 
judging  of  its  effectiveness. 

Pupils  with  high  or  very  low  voices  may  continue  their 
practice  higher  or  lower  as  the  voice  is  soprano,  or  bass,  or  con- 
tralto, but  much  practice  on  the  extremes  of  the  voice  is  un- 
advisable.  If  pure  tones  are  produced  in  the  medium  range  of 
the  voice  the  highest  or  lowest  tones  will  be  found  ready  when 
called  for.  Therefore  practise  the  extremes  of  the  voice  only 
enough  to  know  the  limits  of  the  voice  and  to  be  assured  the 
tones  are  there. 

When  the  singer  can  perform  the  preceding  simple  exercises 
and  know  that  the  tones  are  all  focused,  or  placed  and  deliv- 
ered, precisely  alike,  he  is  ready  to  practise  any  scale,  down 
or  up,  and  to  execute  any  musical  exercise  or  song  for  which 
he  is  intellectually  fitted. 


CHAPTEE  IX 
Throat  Stiffness 

What  is  the  most  frequent  obstacle  to  good  singing,  the 
difficulty  with  which  pupil  and  teacher  most  contend  ?  Throat 
stiffness.  What  more  than  anything  else  mars  the  singing  of 
those  we  hear  in  drawing-rooms,  churches,  and  the  concert 
room?     Throat  stiffness. 

This  is  the  vice  that  prevents  true  intonation,  robs  the 
voice  of  its  expressiveness,  limits  its  range,  lessens  its  flexibility, 
diminishes  its  volume,  and  makes  true  resonance  impossible. 

This  great  interferer  not  only  lessens  the  beauty  of  any 
voice,  but  directly  affects  the  organ  itself.  The  muscles  of 
the  larynx  are  small  and  delicate,  and  the  adjustments  they 
make  in  singing  are  exceedingly  fine.  When,  however,  the 
voice  user  stiffens  his  throat,  these  delicate  muscles  in  their 
spontaneous  effort  to  make  the  proper  adjustments  are  com- 
pelled to  contract  with  more  than  their  normal  strength. 
Every  increase  in  throat  stiffness  demands  a  corresponding 
increase  in  muscle  effort,  an  overexertion  that  persisted  in 
must  result  in  injury  to  the  organ  itself.  Such  misuse  of  the 
voice  is  bound  to  show  injurious  results.  Every  throat 
specialist  knows  this,  and  an  untold  multitude  of  those  who, 
beginning  with  promise,  have  had  to  give  up  singing  as  a 
career,  learn  it  too  late. 

Singers  are  so  accustomed  to  the  sound  of  their  own  voices 
as  to  be  usually  quite  unconscious  of  their  own  throat  stiff- 
ness, though  they  may  recognize  it  in  their  neighbor. 

Unfortunately  throat  stiffness  by  its  very  nature  tends  to 
aggravate  itself,  to  constantly  increase  while  the  voice  becomes 
less  and  less  responsive  to  the  singer's  demands. 

There  are  a  number  of  contributing  causes  to  throat  stiff- 
ness, but  the  principal  cause  is  throat  consciousness  and  mis* 

74 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  75 

placed  effort,  due  largely  to  current  misconceptions  regarding 
the  voice.  A  common  notion  is  that  we  sing  with  the  throat, 
whereas  we  sing  through  it.  Akin  to  this  error  is  the  notion, 
as  common  as  it  is  fallacious,  that  force  of  tone,  carrying 
power,  originates  in  the  larynx,  whereas  the  initial  tone  due 
to  the  vibration  of  the  vocal  cords  is  in  itself  comparatively 
feeble.  As  shown  at  length  in  Chapters  VI  and  VII,  volume  of 
tone,  its  color  and  carrying  power,  is  acoustically  and  vocally  a 
matter  of  resonance. 

Many  there  are  who  sing  by  dint  of  sheer  force  and  igno- 
rance, but  their  careers  are  necessarily  short.  The  too  common 
vulgar  striving  for  power  rather  than  for  beauty  or  purity  of 
tone  induces  unnatural  effort  and  strain  that  both  directly  and 
sympathetically  affect  the  throat  with  stiffness. 

Unnatural  effort  in  breathing,  over-effort  in  breath  con- 
trol, as  well  as  singing  without  adequate  breath,  all  induce 
tension  that  is  reflected  at  once  in  the  sensitive  throat. 

Impatience  of  results,  American  hurry,  beget  unnatural 
effort  and  tension.  "  Unclasp  the  fingers  of  a  rigid  civilization 
from  off  your  throat."  The  student  of  the  violin  or  the  piano 
soon  learns  that  only  by  a  long  and  patient  preparation  can  he 
fit  himself  to  entertain  even  his  admiring  friends.  The  embryo 
singer,  on  the  contrary,  expects  with  far  less  expenditure  of 
time  and  effort  to  appear  in  public. 

The  human  voice  is  a  direct  expression  of  the  man  himself; 
it  registers  spontaneously  his  mental  and  emotional  states,  even 
when  he  would  wish  them  hidden.  Mental  conditions  tinged 
with  impatience,  with  fear,  or  with  anything  that  begets  ten- 
sion of  any  sort  are  reflected  instantly  in  the  voice,  robbing  it 
of  its  better  qualities  and  inducing  stiffness  in  the  throat. 

Eeduced  to  its  lowest  terms  voice  culture  to-day  is  a  struggle 
with  throat  stiffness. 

The  causes  indicate  the  remedy.  Foremost,  then,  is  drop- 
ping all  throat  consciousness,  all  thought  of  the  throat,  all 
drawing  of  attention  to  it.  The  larynx  must  be  left  un- 
cramped,  unhindered  to  do  its  work  in  free  unconsciousness, 


76  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

which  it  will  do  if  not  disturbed  by  tension  in  its  neighborhood, 
or  by  misdirected  thought. 

The  stream  of  consciousness  must  in  singing  be  directed  to 
the  breathing  which  is  below  the  throat,  and  to  resonance  and 
pronunciation  which  are  above  it.  These  functions  are  more 
or  less  consciously  controlled  until  at  last  mastery  makes  their 
action  automatic. 

I  would  once  more  emphasize  the  fact  that  the  free  use  of 
all  the  resonance  chambers,  and  the  recognition  of  the  great 
function  of  resonance,  will  do  more  than  anything  else  to  set  the 
voice  _free  and  emancipate  the  singer  from  all  interfering 
rigidity. 


CHAPTER  X 
Some  General  Considerations 

the  natural  voice 

Pupils  are  constantly  urged  to  sing  and  speak  naturally, 
because  the  "  natural  "  -tone  is  correct.  This  is  exceedingly 
indefinite.  It  is  natural  for  a  child  to  imitate  the  first  sound 
it  hears,  whether  it  be  correct  or  incorrect.  In  either  case  the 
child  imitates  it,  and  for  that  child  it  becomes  the  natural 
tone.  The  child  reared  in  the  wilderness,  beyond  the  hearing 
of  a  human  voice,  will  imitate  the  notes  of  the  whip-poor-will, 
the  chatter  of  the  monkey,  and  the  hoot  of  the  owl,  and  for  him 
they  are  natural  tones. 

To  be  natural  is  the  hardest  lesson  to  learn  and  it  is 
only  the  result  of  imitation  or  prolonged  discipline.  Un- 
trained naturalness  is  the  perfection  of  awkwardness.  The  in- 
Voluntary  functions  of  organic  life  are  the  only  ones  naturally 
performed  correctly.  Nature's  method  of  breathing,  circu- 
lation, and  digestion  can  be  depended  upon  until  disarranged 
by  subsequent  conditions,  but  unless  proper  vocalization  is 
established  by  imitation  and  discipline  this  function  is  sure  to 
be  corrupted  by  false  examples. 

AGE   TO   BEGIN 

After  the  child  begins  to  talk,  the  sooner  his  vocal  educa- 
tion begins  the  better.  Even  at  that  early  age  he  can  be  made 
to  understand  the  merits  of  head  vibrations  and  by  simple  exer- 
cises produce  them,  and  once  taught  will  never  forget  them. 
Vocalizing,  like  every  other  art,  is  most  easily  learned  by 
imitation,  and  the  advantage  of  the  early  years,  when  that 
faculty  is  most  active,  should  not  be  lost.  In  olden  times  the 
importance  of  this  was  fully  realized.  More  than  three  cen- 
turies ago,  old  Roger  Ascham  wrote :  "  All  languages,  both 

77 


78  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

learned  and  mother  tongues,  are  begotten  and  gotten  solely  by 
imitation.  For  as  ye  used  to  hear  so  ye  learn  to  speak.  If  ye 
hear  no  other,  ye  speak  not  yourself ;  and  of  whom  ye  only  hear, 
of  them  ye  only  learn."  Nineteen  centuries  ago  Quintillian 
wrote :  "  Before  all  let  the  nurses  speak  properly.  The  boy 
will  hear  them  first  and  will  try  to  -shape  his  words  by 
imitating  them." 

If  the  right  way  of  using  the  voice  is  early  taught  it  will 
be  a  guard  against  the  contraction  of  bad  habits  which  can 
only  be  corrected  later  with  infinite  trouble.  It  certainly 
would  be  unwise  to  put  a  young  child  under  continued  train- 
ing; but  even  in  the  kindergarten  the  right  method  of  voice 
production  can  and  should  be  taught.  Teachers  of  kindergar- 
ten and  primary  schools  should  be  familiar  with  the  principles 
of  voice  training  and  be  able  to  start  the  pupils  at  once  on  the 
right  road. 

IN    PUBLIC    SCHOOLS 

The  sooner  this  branch  of  education  is  made  a  part  of  the 
curriculum  of  our  common  schools,  the  sooner  shall  we  produce 
a  race  of  good  speakers  and  singers. 

If,  during  the  pupil's  school  life,  proper  attention  is  paid 
to  these  primary  principles  and  to  correct  articulation,  a  large 
majority  of  students  will  graduate  from  our  common  schools 
prepared  to  advance  in  the  art  of  elocution  or  of  singing  without 
being  obliged  first  to  unlearn  a  vast  amount  of  error  and  to 
correct  a  long  list  of  bad  habits. 

If  each  day  in  the  public  schools  a  few  minutes  only  are 
devoted  to  the  subject  by  a  teacher  who  understands  it  and 
who  will  call  the  attention  of  the  pupils  to  the  proper  applica- 
tions of  the  principles  in  their  daily  recitations,  it  will  be  found 
amply  sufficient  to  develop  and  establish  a  good  speaking  and 
singing  voice. 

ARTISTRY 

If  artistry  is  to  be  attained,  every  organ  must  be  individ- 
ually well  trained.     Yet,   during  performance,  no   one  part 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  79 

should  be  given  undue  prominence.  The  voice  should  be 
the  product  of  all  the  organs  equally  well  developed.  Con- 
tinued practice  will  enable  the  performer  to  correlate  the 
whole — blend  the  strength  of  all  in  one. 

It  goes  without  saying  tbat  no  one  in  singing  or  speaking 
should  appear  to  be  governed  by  a  "  method."  During  the 
early  stages  of  education,  pupils  should  be  amenable  to  rules 
and  methods,  but  they  must  not  expect  to  be  acceptable  per- 
formers until  able  to  forget  their  lessons  and  simply  and  un- 
consciously make  use  of  all  the  advantages  of  their  training. 
Even  when  the  education  is  finished,  and  the  prima  donna  has 
made  her  successful  debut,  continued  daily  repetition  of  pri- 
mary exercises  is  necessary  to  maintain  excellence  and  insure 
the  progress  that  every  performer  desires.  Our  best  singers 
to-day  are  as  diligent  students  of  the  technique  of  the  voice  as 
are  the  tyros  struggling  with  the  first  elements. 

life's  periods 

Human  life  is  divided  into  three  periods:  first,  that  of 
effort  to  get  an  education ;  second,  of  effort  to  maintain  it ;  and 
third,  of  effort  to  resist  the  natural  decline  which  comes  with 
advancing  years.  The  singer  and  speaker  must  drill  to  de- 
velop the  voice,  must  drill  to  keep  it  in  condition,  and  must 
drill  to  resist  the  encroachments  of  senility.  Eternal  vigilance 
is  the  price  of  vocal  success. 

APPLICATION    OF   ESSENTIALS 

The  application  of  the  principles  here  discussed  will  show 
that  a  musical  voice  is  not  the  product  of  mysterious  systems, 
but  a  matter  of  scientific  certainty.  The  essentials  are  good 
breathing,  good  focusing,  good  resonance,  and  good  articula- 
tion. These  four  elements  are  so  interdependent  that  one  can- 
not be  perfected  without  the  other.  With  these  attained,  the 
intellect,  the  sentiment,  and  the  emotion  of  the  performer  will 
culminate  in  artistic  excellence. 


80  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

REPOSE  AS  A  PREPARATION  FOR  VOCAL  EXERCISE 

The  nervousness  or  fear  which  manifests  itself  in  constraint 
and  rigidity  of  the  muscles  and  sometimes  in  stage  fright  is  a 
serious  hindrance  to  progress.  The  effectual  offset  to  this 
painful  condition  is  repose. 

The  art  of  inducing  a  condition  of  repose  can  be  readily 
acquired  by  any  one  who  will  carefully  and  faithfully  do  as 
follows :  Place  yourself  in  an  easy  lying  or  lounging  position 
in  a  quiet  place,  with  fresh  air.  Physical  repose  prepares  for 
and  invites  mental  repose.  Now  allow  the  mind  to  work  care 
free  at  its  own  sweet  will  without  any  attempt  to  control  it. 
Close  the  eyes  and  breathe  slowly,  gently,  and  deeply,  with 
steady  rhythm.  In  two  or  three  minutes  a  sensation  of  quiet 
restful  repose  will  be  experienced,  which  may  be  continued  for 
several  minutes  or  may  even  lead  to  a  natural  sound  sleep. 

This  result  may  not  be  attained  at  the  first  or  the  second 
trial,  but  a  few  repetitions  of  the  exercise  will  insure  success 
in  almost  every  case.  After  the  art  is  attained  in  this  forma] 
way,  ability  to  induce  the  same  repose  when  sitting  upright, 
or  while  standing,  will  be  quickly  developed. 

This  repose  is  the  fitting  preparation  for  a  lesson  or  a  per- 
formance and  may  be  induced  during  the  progress  of  either, 
to  allay  any  trepidation  incident  to  the  situation.  A  mastery 
of  this  simple  art  will  make  progress  in  the  work  of  voice 
development  much  more  rapid,  and  make  attainable  a  degree 
of  discipline  that  is  impossible  Without  it.  It  will  prove  for  the 
beginner  a  sure  prevention  of  stage  fright  and  a  great  relief 
to  the  most  chronic  sufferer  from  this  malady. 

THE    VIBRATO 

The  vibrato  is  a  rhythmic  pulsation  of  the  voice.  It  often 
appears  in  untrained  voices ;  in  others  it  appears  during  the 
process  of  cultivation.  Some  have  thought  it  the  perfection 
of  sympathetic  quality ;  others  esteem  it  a  fault. 

The  vibrato  is  caused  by  an  undulating  variation  of  pitch 
or  power,  often  both.     The  voice  does  not  hold  steadily  and 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  81 

strictly  to  the  pitch,  and  according  to  the  amount  of  the  varia- 
tion a  corresponding  vibrato,  or  tremolo,  is  produced. 

The  action  of  stringed  instruments  illustrates  this  state- 
ment. The  finger  of  the  violinist  vibrates  on  the  string  by 
rocking  rapidly  back  and  forth  and  the  vibrato  is  the  result. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  human  instrument.  By  variation 
of  the  tension,  the  vocal  apparatus  sends  forth  several  tones  in 
alternation,  of  a  slightly  different  pitch,  which  together  pro- 
duce the  effect. 

Three  sources  are  ascribed  for  the  vibrato;  one  is  a  rapid, 
spasmodic  vibration  of  the  diaphragm,  causing  variation  of 
breath  pressure ;  another  is  the  alternate  tension  and  relaxa- 
tion of  the  larynx  and  vocal  cords ;  a  third  is  that  commonest 
of  faults — throat  stiffness.  Either  cause  is  possible,  and 
variation  in  the  pitch  or  intensity  of  the  tone  is  the  result. 
Sufficient  investigations  have  not  been  made  to  make  the 
matter  certain,  but  tremolo,  trembling  of  the  vocal  organs,  and 
muscular  stiffness,  or  unnatural  tension,  seem  to  go  together. 

It  is  quite  possible  in  the  early  stages  of  culture  so  to  train 
the  voice  as  to  use  the  vibrato  or  not  at  will,  but  if  not  early 
controlled  this,  like  other  bad  habits,  gains  the  mastery.  Ex- 
cessive vibrato  has  spoiled  many  good  voices.  It  is  not  a 
fundamental  quality  of  the  voice.  A  little  vibrato  may  occa- 
sionally be  desirable  when  properly  and  skilfully  used;  more 
than  this  is  to  be  shunned  as  a  dangerous  vice. 


CHAPTER  XI 

The  Psychology  of  Vocal  Culture 

J^-^LENTALr-eoaeefitioii  pjg.cg.des_  execution.  The  picture  must 
exist  in  the  artist's  mind  before  it  can  be  drawn  on  the  can- 
vas. The  architect  must  mentally  see  the  majestic  cathedral 
in  all  its  details  before  he  can  draw  the  plans  from  which 
it  can  be  built.  In  the  field  of  physical  activity  no  movement 
is  made  until  the  mind  has  gone  before  and  prepared  the  way. 
A  person's  ability  to  do  is  in  a  great  degree  measured  by  his 
determination  to  do,  but  sitting  in  a  rocking-chair  and  thinking 
will  never  make  an  athlete.  Mental  action  is  necessary,  but 
only  through  trained  muscular  action  can  tjie_niejrtal_actii}^ 
materialize  in  a  finished  performance. 

So  too  the^mind  must/anticipate  the  action  of  the,  vocal 
organs,  bu/the  Organs  themselves  must  be  led  to  inlerprettbje 
mental  concept  untjJ^such  action  becojnes  spontaneous.  Action 
in  tern  qiiiekens  the  mental^r^c^ss^^nd^the  mentafpicture 
becomes  more  vivid. 

Note  with  emphasis  that  the_^^^\y(^c^pC^ceced&^  the 
action  and  governs  it.  Tbprp.f nrp;  instpgj^nf  producing  tone 
by  local  effort,  J) y  conscious  muscular  action  of  jiny  sort,  .cor- 
rectly thin}:  the  tone,  correctly  sharjg^arid,  color  it jmentally . 
Every  vocal  tone  is  a  mental  concept  made  audible!  The 
beginner  and  the  confirmed  bungler  alike  fail  in  this  prime 
essential — they  do  not  make  this  mental  picture  of  tone  before 
singing  it.  Kindred  to  this  is  deficiency  in  hearing,  in  dis- 
criminating between  good  tone  color  and  poor.  The  student 
must  constantly  compare  his  tone  as  it  is  sung  with  the  picture 
in  his  mind.  Training  the  voice  is  therefore  largely  a  training 
of  mind  and  ear,  a  developing  of  nicety  in  discrimination. 
Singing  is  mental  rather  than  physical,  psychologic  rather  than 
physiologic.  Think  therefore  of  the  effect  desired  rather  than 
of  the  process. 

82 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  83 

In  considering  the  details  of  voice  production  analytically 
we  are  apt  to  forget  that  man,  notwithstanding  his  complexity, 
is  a  unit  and  acts  as  a  unit.  Back  of  all  and  underlying  man's 
varied  activity  is  the  psychical.  In  the  advanced  stages  of  the 
art  of  speech  and  song  this  psychical  element  is  of  pre- 
eminent importance. 

The  speaker  who  essays  to  give  expression  to  his  own 
thoughts  must  have  his  ideas  sharply  defined  and  aflame  in 
order  to  so  utter  them  that  they  will  arouse  his  hearers  to 
enthusiasm.  '  The  speaker  or  singer  who  would  successfully 
interpret  the  thoughts  of  others  must  first  make  those  thoughts 
his  very  own.  'When  this  is  attained,  then  the  voice,  action, 
and  the  whole  spirit  of  the  performer,  responding  to  the 
theme,  will  beget  a  like  responsiveness  in  his  audience. 

THE   SINGER   BEHIND   THE    VOICE 

Books  upon  books  have  been  written  on  voice  training, 
and  will  continue  to  be  written.  The  preceding  pages  have 
been  devoted  to  the  fundamental  subject  of  tone  production, 
but  it  is  time  to  suggest  that  back  of  the  voice  and  the  song  is 
the  singer  himself  with  his  complex  personality.  Back  of  the 
personality  is  the  soul  itself,  forever  seeking  utterance  through 
its  mask  of  personality.  All  genuine  impulse  to  sing  is  from 
the  soul  in  its  need  for  expression.  Through  expression  comes 
growth  in  soul  consciousness  and  desire  for  greater  and  greater 
self-expression. 

Singing  is  far  more  than  "  wind  and  muscle,"  for,  as 
Ffrangcon-Davies  puts  it,  "  The  whole  spiritual  system,  spirit, 
mjnd,  sense,  soul,  together  with  the  whole  muscular  system 
from  feet  to  head,  will  be  in  the_wise  man's  singing,  and  the 
whole  man   will  be  in  the  tone." 

Of  all  the  expressions  of  the  human  spirit  in  art  form, 
the  sublimated  speech  we  call  song  is  the  most  direct.  Every 
other  art  requires  some  material  medium  for  its  transmission, 
and  in  music,  subtlest  of  all  the  arts,  instruments  are  needed, 
except  in  singing  only. 


84  RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 

FREEDOM 

In  song  the  singer  himself  is  the  instrument  of  free  and 
direct  expression.  Freedom  of  expression,  complete  utterance, 
igjjrevented  only  bythe  singer  himself.  _jSTo  one  hinders  him. 
no_  one  stands  in  the  way  but  himself.  The  business  of  the 
teacher  is  to  set  free  that  which  is  latent.  His  high  calling  is 
by  wise  guidance  to  help  the  singer  to  get  out  of  his  own  way, 
to  cease  standing  in  front  of  himself.  Technical  training  is 
not  all  in  all.  Simple  recognition  of  the  existence  of  our 
powers  is  needed  even  more.  Freedom  comes  through  the 
recognition  and  appropriation  of  inherent  power;  recognition 
comes  first,  the  appropriation  then  follows  simply.  The  novice 
does  not  know  his  natural  power,  his  birthright,  and  must  be 
helped  to  find  it,  chiefly,  however,  by  helping  himself,  by 
cognizing  and   re-cognizing  it. 

No  student  of  the  most  human  of  all  arts — singing — need 
give  up  if  he  has  burning  within  him  the  song  impulse,  the 
hunger  to  sing.  This  inner  impulse  is  by  its  strength  an  evi- 
dence of  the  power  to  sing;  the  very  hunger  is  a  promise  and 
a  prophecy. 

DETERRENTS 

The  deterrents  to  beautiful  singing  are  physical  in  appear- 
ance, but  these  are  outer  signs  of  mental  or  emotional  disturb- 
ance. Normal  poise,  which  is  strength,  smilingly  expresses 
itself  in  curves,  in  tones  of  beauty. 

Mental  discord  results  in  angularity,  rigidity,  harshness. 

Impatience  produces  feverishness  that  makes  vocal  poise 
impossible ;  and  impatience  induces  the  modern  vice  of  forcing 
the  tone.  Growth  is  a  factor  for  which  hurried  forcing 
methods  make  no  allowance. 

Excess  of  emotion  with  its  loss  of  balance  affects  the  breath- 
ing and  play  of  the  voice. 

Exertion,  trying  effort,  instead  of  easy,  happy  activity 
induces  hampering  rigidities. 

Intensity,    over-concentration,    or    rather    false    concentra* 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING  85 

tioii,  emotional  tension,  involves  strain,  and  strain  is  always 
wrong. 

Over-conscientiousness,  with  its  fussiness  about  petty  de- 
tail, and  insistence  on  non-essentials,  is  a  deterrent  from  which 
the  robust  are  free.  Over-attention  to  the  mechanics  of  voice 
production  is  a  kindred  deterrent.  Both  deterrents  prevent 
that  prime  characteristic  of  expression — spontaneity. 

Anxiety  is  a  great  contractor  of  muscle,  a  great  stiffener. 
Anxiety  always  forgets  the  power  within,  and  falsely  says  to  the 
song-hunger,  "  You  shall  never  be  satisfied." 

Self-repression  is  a  great  deterrent  that  afflicts  the  more 
sensitive,  particularly  those  of  puritanic  inheritance.  It  is  a 
devitalizer  and  a  direct  negative  to  expression,  which  is  vital, 
is  life. 

All  of  these  deterrents  are  negative  and  may  be  overcome 
by  fuller  recognition  of  the  inner  power  that  by  its  very  nature 
must  perpetually  seek  positive  expression. 

CONCLUSION 

In  conclusion,  the  student  can  perpetually  find  encourage- 
ment in  a  number  of  happy  facts. 

Man  is  endowed  by  nature,  except  in  rare  instances,  with  a 

perfect  jyocaLapparatus.     When  abnormal  conditions  are  found 

they  are  usually  in  the  adult  voice,  and  are  due  solely  to  misuse. 

In  other  words  defects  are  not  inherent  but  acquired   and 

jxiUffie  jasmoved. 

By  nature  the  human  voice  is  beautiful,  for  the__tendency 
of-,  nature  is"~always  in  the  direction  of_beauty.  Whatever  is 
unlovely  in  singing,  as  in  all  else,  is  wwnatural.  JTpi£_method 
is  therefore  never_artificial  In  its  action,  but  simple,  because 
the  naturaL_is_always  simple. 

Jinally,  no,  not  finally^  but  firstly  and  secondly  and  thirdly 
and  perpetually,  every  student  of  singing  and  every  teacher 
of— it ^nust_constantTy  bear  in  mind  the  happy  law: 

V^  THE  RIGHT  WAY  IS  ALWAYS  AN  EASY  WAY 


BOOKS  CONSULTED 


Title  Author  Published 

An  Essay  on  the  History 
and  Theory  of  Music,  and 
of  the  Qualities  and  Ca- 
pacity of  the  Human 
Voice Isaac  Nathan  London,  1823. 

Elements  of  Vocal  Science .    Richard  Mackenzie  Bacon    London,  1824. 

Orthophony;  or  the  Culti- 
vation of  the  Voice  in 
Elocution William  Russell  Boston,  1859. 

Vocal  Physiology Charles  Alex.  Guilmette       New  York,  1860. 

Die  Lehre  von  den  Ton- 
empfindungen  als  physi- 
ologische  Grundlage  fur 
die  theorie  der  Musik  . .    H.  L.  F.  Helmholtz  Brunswick,  1863. 

The  Sensations  of  Tone  as 
a  Physiological  Basis  for 

the    Theory  .  of    Music.    H.  L.  F.  Helmholtz 
(Translation    of   above)    (Translated  by  A.  J.  Ellis)      London,  1875. 

Sound John  Tyndall  London,  1867. 

Principles  of  Elocution  and 

Voice  Culture Benj.  W.  Atwell  Providence,  1868. 

The  Voice,  Its  Artistic  Pro- 
duction, Development 
and  Preservation George  J.  Lee  London,  1870. 

The    Cultivation    of    the 

Speaking  Voice John  Pyke  Hullah  Oxford,  1870. 

Voice  Building Horace  R.  Streeter  Boston,  1871. 

Principles  of  Elocution  and 

Voice  Culture Benjamin  Atwell  Boston,  1872. 

Hints  for  Pronunciation  in 

Singing Georgiana  Weldon  London,  1872. 

The  Voice  in  Singing Emma  Seiler  Philadelphia,  1872 

The  Voice  as  an  Instru- 
ment     Ange  A.  Pattou  New  York,  1878. 

The  Vocal  Process John  Howard  New  York,  1878. 

Speech  in  Song Alexander  J.  Ellis  London,  1878. 

Voice  and  Vocalization.. .  .    Wm.  P.  Robert  London,  1879. 

The    Human    Voice    and 

Connected  Parts Joseph  Montgomery  Farrar  London,  1881. 

The  Mechanism  of  the  Hu- 
man Voice Emil  Behnke  London,  1882. 

Gymnastics  of  the  Voice .  .    Oskar  Guttmann  Albany,  1882. 

The  Art  of  Voice  Produc- 
tion with  Special  Refer- 
ence to  the  Methods  of 
Correct  Breathing Ange  A.  Pattou  New  York,  1882. 


BOOKS   CONSULTED 

The  Old  Italian  School  of 

Singing Leo  Kofler 

The  Secrets  of  the  Voice  in 

Singing Emilio  Belari 

Deep  Breathing Sophia  A.  Ciccolina 

Artistic    Voice    in   Speech 

and  Song Charles  Lunn 

Voice,  Song  and  Speech .  .     Lennox  Browne  and  Eniil 

Behnke 
Modern  Singing  Methods, 

Their  Use  and  Abuse.  . .    John  Franklin  Botume 
The    Diaphragm    and    Its 

Functions _. I.  M.  W.  Kitchen 

The  Voice  from  a  Practical 

Standpoint Edmund  J.  Meyer 

The  Hygiene  of  the  Vocal 

Organs Morrell  Mackenzie,  M.D. 

How  to  Sing Wm.  Henry  Daniell 

The   Art   of  Breathing   as 

the  Basis  for  Tone  Pro- 
duction      Leo  Kofler 

The  Voice.  How  to  Train 

It Edward  Barrett  Warnian 

Scientific  Voice.     Artistic 

Singing     and     Effective 

Singing Thomas  Chater 

Voice  Figures Mrs.    Margaret   Watts 

Hughes 
The    Human    Voice;    Its 

Cultivation W.  H.  Griffiths 

The  Philosophy  of  Singing .    Clara  Kathleen,  Rogers 
The    What    and    How    of 

Vocal  Culture F.  Rowena  Medini 

Exercises   in   Vocal  Tech- 
nique     John  Franklin  Botume 

Text-Book  on  the  Natural 

Use  of  the  Voice George  E.  Thorp  and  Wil- 
liam Nicholl 
Respiration  for  Advanced 

Singers John  Franklin  Botume 

Voice   Building  and  Tone 

Placing Henrv   Holbrook   Curtis, 

M.  D. 
Twenty    Lessons    on    the 

Development      of      the 

Voice George  E.  Thorp 

Voxometric  Revelation 

(The  Problem  Surround- 
ing   the    Production    of 

the  Human  Voice  Finally 

Discovered) Alfred    Augustus    North 

The  Art  of  Singing Wm.  Shakespeare 

The      Rightly  -  Produced 

Voice Edward  Davidson  Palmer 


87 


Albany, 1882. 

New  York,  1883. 
New  York,  1883. 

London, 1884. 

London,  1884. 

Boston,  1885. 

Albany, 1885. 

New  York,  1886. 

London, 1886. 
New  York,  1887. 

New  York,  1887. 
Boston,  1S90. 

London,  1890. 

London,  1S91. 

London,  1892. 
New  York,  1893. 

New  York,  1893. 

Boston,  1894. 

London,  1895. 
Boston,  1897. 

New  Yorkr>1896. 

London,  1896. 


London,  1896. 
London  and  Bos- 
ton, 1898. 

London, 1898. 


88  BOOKS   CONSULTED 

How   to   Train   Children's 

Voices T.  Maskell  Hardy 

How  to  Sing   (Meine   Ge- 

sangskunst) Lilli  Lehmann 

Scientific  Tone  Production .    Mary  Ingles  James 
English  Diction  for  Singers 

and  Speakers Louis  Arthur  Russell 

The     Training     of     Boys' 

Voices Clarke  Ellsworth  Johnson 

Voice  Production  in  Sing- 
ing and  Speaking Wesley  Mills,  M.  D. 

The  Art  of  the  Singer W.  J.  Henderson 

The      Commonplaces      of 

Vocal  Art Louis  Arthur  Russell 

The  Singing  of  the  Future .    David  Ffrangcon-Davies 
The   Art  of    Singing  and 

Vocal  Declamation  ....    Sir  Charles  Santley 


London,  1899. 

New  York,  1902. 
Boston,  1903. 

Boston,  1905. 

Boston,  1906. 

Philadelphia.  1906. 
New  York,  1906. 
• 
Boston,  1907. 
London,  1908. 

London, 1908. 


INDEX 


Abdominal  Breathing,  employed 
by  Martel,  4,  26;  lateral,  3.  (See 
also  Chest-abdominal  breathing  and 
Lateral  abdominal  breathing.) 

Acoustics,  43;  experiments  in,  46- 
48;  Pascal  on,  ^9. 

Actor,  enunciation  of  the,  19;  im- 
portance of  deep  breathing  for,  19. 

Adam's  Apple,  the  male  larynx,  9. 

Age  to  begin  study  of  voice,  77. 

AH-sound,  narrow  limits  of,  18;  how- 
produced,  22;  Lilli  Lehmann  on, 
19;  place  of,  in  practice,  57. 

Air  Cavities  (see  Sinuses). 

Anxiety,  a  deterrent  to  beautiful 
singing,  85. 

Application  of  Essentials,  79. 

Appunn,  on  pitch  of  vowel  sounds, 
20. 

Articulation,  differing  opinions 
concerning,  3;  relation  of,  to  reso- 
nance, 51;  through  upper  Up,  72. 
(See  also  Pronunciation.) 

Articulator,  6. 

Artistry,  79. 

Ascham,  Roger,  on  voice  culture 
through  imitation,  77. 

Aw-sound,  lip  position  for,  22;  in 
exercises,  59,  etc. 

Beauty  of  Tone,  a  criterion  of  cor- 
rect vocal  action,  56. 

Bell,  on  pitch  of  vowel  sounds,  20. 

Booth,  Edwin,  as  a  good  speaker, 
16. 

Booth,  Junius  Brutus,  impair- 
ment of  his  voice,  53. 

Breath  Control,  23-32;  impor- 
tance of,  in  both  speaking  and 
singing,  23;  muscles  of  respira 
tion  in,  23;  the  diaphragm  in,  23 
muscles  in,  24;  the  lungs  in,  25 
inspiration,  25;  expiration,  25 
correct  method  of,  25;  a  cure  for 
nervousness,  27 ;  necessity  of  exer- 
cises, 27;  economy  a  factor  in,  30; 
exaggerated,  30;  initial  use  of,  31; 
exercises  for,  33-37;  of  Farinelli, 
37. 


Breath  Force,  initial  use  of,  31; 
reserve,  31;  wasted,  31. 

Breath  Mastery,  meaning  of,  32. 

Breathing,  art  of,  3;  an  amplifica- 
tion of  the  daily  habit,  5;  defined 
as  singing,  23;  correct,  25,  28;  not 
differing  in  sex,  26;  vicious  habits 
of,  26;  controlling  deeply,  26; 
tests  of,  26;  nose  versus  mouth, 
26;  regularity  of,  26;  in  obtaining 
power  and  largeness  of  tone,  27; 
tor  high  tones,  27;  relation  of,  to 
nervousness,  27;  rhythmic,  27; 
necessity  of  exercises,  27;  illus- 
trations of,  28,  29;  exercises  in, 
33-37;  economy  in,  30;  tests  in, 
by  Professor  Mills,  30;  exagger- 
ated control  of,  30;  exhaustion, 
31;  initial  force  in,  31;  reserve 
power  in,  31;  mastery  of,  32. 
(See  also  Abdominal  breathing.) 

Broschi.  Don  Carlo,  breath  con- 
trol of,  36. 

Browne,  Dr.  Lennox,  on  the  la- 
ryngoscope, 3. 

Browne  and  Behnke,  on  nasal  res- 
onance, 53. 

Chest,  expansion  of  and  resonance, 

49. 
Chest-Abdominal  Breathing,  25; 

illustrated  in  sleeping  child,  25; 

tests  in,  26;  illustrated,  28,  29. 
Chest    Tones,     former    emphasis 

given  to,  2;  wrongly  termed,  5. 
Clay,  Henry,  as  a  good  speaker, 

16. 
Closed    Tones,    former    emphasis 

given  to,  2;  wrongly  termed,  5. 
Cryer,  Dr.  W.  H.,  on  the  frontal 

sinus,  12. 
Culture  of  the  Voice  (see  Voice 

cidturc). 

Deep  Breathing,  importance  of, 
for  the  actor,  19.  (See  also 
Breathing.) 

Deterrents  to  Beautiful  Sing- 
ing, 84,  85. 

89 


90 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 


Diaphragm,  in  breathing,  19;  not 
a  muscle  of  expiration,  23;  de- 
scribed, 23,  24;  in  inspiration,  24; 
in  expiration,  24;  illustrated,  24, 
29. 

Difference  Between  Singing 
and  Speaking,  17. 

Ear,  function  of,  in  tone  produc- 
tion, 57;  training  of,  57. 

EE-sound,  lip  position  for,  20;  in 
exercises,  57,  59,  etc. 

Effort,  Tense,  a  deterrent  to  beau- 
tiful singing,  84. 

Emotion,  effect  on  tone  quality,  7; 
excess  of,  a  deterrent  to  beautiful 
singing,  84. 

Empiricists,  where  they  have 
failed,  4. 

Epiglottis,  10. 

Essentials,  application  of,  79. 

Ethmoid  Bone,  8. 

Ethmoidal  Sinuses,  illustrated,  7; 
function  of,  12. 

Everett,  Edward,  as  a  good 
speaker,  16. 

Exercises,  Breathing:  necessity 
of,  27,  33;  preliminary  sugges- 
tions, 33,  34;  attitude  in  taking, 
34;  I,  to  show  what  a  deep  breath 
is,  34;  II,  slow  inhalation  with 
sudden  expulsion,  35;  III,  sipping 
the  breath,  with  quick  exhalation, 
35;  IV,  for  rib  expansion,  35; 
V,  slow  inhalation  with  slow  ex- 
piration, 36;  VI,  rapid  inspira- 
tion   with    slow    expiration,    36; 

VII,  Farinelli's  great  exercise,  36; 

VIII,  the  cleansing  breath,   37; 
half  breath,  37. 

Exercises,  Vocal:  I,  to  establish 
nasal  and  head  resonance,  58-61; 
for  speakers,  60,  61;  II,  to  estab- 
lish head  and  nasal  resonance,  61; 
III,  IV,  V,  upper  resonance,  62- 
64;  VI,  to  enlarge  the  throat  and 
thus  magnify  the  tone,  64;  VII, 
for  production  of  the  vowel  sounds 
in  proper  focus,  65;  VIII,  to  en- 
large the  throat  and  focus  the 
vowels,  66;  IX,  quick  changing 
notes  without  changing  resonance, 
67;  X,  for  agility,  67,  68;  XI,  to 
develop  the  use  of  the  lips  and 


under  jaw,  68,  69;  XII,  for  facility 
and  quick  vowel  change,  69,  70; 
XIII,  ascending  and  descending 
scale,  71;  XIV,  the  long  scale,  71; 
additional,  72,  73;  repose  as  a 
preparation  for,  80. 
Expiration,  muscles  of,  23,  24; 
under  controlled  pressure,  24;  de- 
scribed, 25;  the  lungs  in,  25;  illus- 
trated, 28,  29. 

Face,  training  muscles  of,  15. 

Farinelli,  breath  control  of,  36. 

Ffrangcon-Davies,  on  pronuncia- 
tion, 18;  on  registers,  39;  on  func- 
tion of  ear  in  voice  training,  57; 
definition  of  singing  of,  83. 

Focusing  the  Voice  (see  Voice 
placing) . 

Forbes-Robertson,  on  diction,  19. 

Formes,  Carl,  voice  of,  in  declining 
years,  4. 

Freedom  in  Singing,  84. 

Frontal  Sinuses,  function  of,  12; 
illustration  of,  7. 

Garcia,  Manuel,  inventor  of  laryn- 
goscope, 2;  use  of  laryngoscope,  2; 
Sir  Charles  Stanley  on,  3. 

Goltnod,  on  pronunciation,  19. 

Half-Breath,  Sembrich  and,  37. 

Hard  Palate,  function  of,  12. 

Harshness,  an  indication  of  ten- 
sion, 56. 

Head  Cavities,  a  resonator  for  the 
voice,  6;  effect  of,  on  resonance, 
12. 

Head  Tones,  in  previous  years,  2; 
wrongly  termed,  5. 

Helmholtz,  on  pitch  of  vowel 
sounds,  20;  on  acoustics,  43.  49. 

Henderson,  W.  J.,  on  pronuncia- 
tion, 18. 

High  Tones,  breath  control  neces- 
sary for,  27. 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  on  Ed- 
ward Everett's  voice,  16. 

Hyoid  Bone,  8,  10. 

I-sound,  described,  21. 

Impatience,  a  deterrent  to  beauti- 
ful singing,  84. 

Inspiration,  muscles  of,  23,  24; 
process  of,   described,   25;   illus- 


JNDEX 


91 


trated,  28,  29.     (See  also  Breath 

control  and  Breathing.) 
Instrument,  Musical,  elements  of. 

43,  44. 
Intensity,    Involving   Strain,   a 

deterrent  to  beautiful  singing,  84. 

Kindergarten  Teachers,  instruc- 
tion by,  78. 

Koenig,  on  pitch  of  vowel  sounds, 
20. 

Laryngoscope,  and  registers,  2; 
Garcia  the  inventor  of,  2;  use- 
fulness of,  2;  limitations  of,  3; 
disappointing  results  of,  38;  not 
an  instrument  for  the  singer,  51. 

Larynx,  moving,  3;  viewed  through 
the  laryngoscope,  3;  illustrated,  7; 
description  of,  8,  9;  relation  of 
size  of,  to  pitch,  9;  automatic  ac- 
tion of,  38;  not  alone  the  vocal 
organ,  50;  reflex  action  of,  51; 
force  of  tone  does  not  originate 
in,  75;  must  be  left  uncramped, 
75. 

Lateral  Abdominal  Breathing, 
3,  25,  28. 

Lehmann,  Madame  Lilli,  on  use  of 
Ah,  19;  on  registers,  39;  on  nasal 
resonance,  54. 

Life's  Periods,  79. 

Lind,  Jenny,  effects  of  wrong  meth- 
ods on,  4. 

Lips,  in  articulation,  14;  position 
of,  20-22;  illustrated,  21,  22. 

Lungs,  a  motor  for  the  voice,  6; 
illustrated,  24;  described,  25; 
overcrowding,  31. 

Mackenzie,  Dr.  Morell,  on  the 

laryngoscope,  3;  on  singing  and 

speaking,  17. 
Macready,  Wm.  Charles,  as  a  good 

speaker,  16. 
Martel,  voice  of,  at  seventy,  4. 
Maxillary  Sinuses,  7,  8,  12. 
May,    Dr.,    breathing    tests   made 

by,  26. 
McKinley,  M.  S.,  on  Garcia  and 

the  laryngoscope,  2. 
Mental  Discord,   a  deterrent   to 

beautiful  singing,  84. 
Meyer, Edmund  J., on  resonance, 43. 


Mills,  Dr.  Wesley,  on  breath 
measure,  30;  on  ease  of  vocal  ac- 
tion, 56;  on  the  function  of  the 
ear  in  tone  production,  57. 

Motor  of  the  Vocal  Instrument, 
6. 

Mouth,  theory  of  its  function,  1 ;  a 
resonator  for  the  voice,  6. 

Muscles  of  Respiration,  23. 

Music  Teachers,  scientific,  4;  em- 
pirical, 4. 

Nasal  Cavities,  as  reinforcing 
agents  in  tone  production,  2; 
a  resonator  for  the  voice,  6;  illus- 
trated, 7;  formation  of,  8;  vibra- 
tions in,  8;  effect  on  resonance, 
12;  Edward  Everett's  use  of,  16; 
as  a  resonator,  52,  53;  obstruc- 
tion of,  in  Booth,  53. 

Nasal  Resonance,  erroneous  theo- 
ries concerning,  1,  2;  Madame 
Rudersdorff  recognized  effect  of, 
2;  involved  in  head  resonance,  52; 
versus  nasal  tone  quality,  53; 
Lilli  Lehmann  on,  54;  Sembrich's 
study  of,  54;  importance  of,  54. 

Natural  Voice,  what  is  meant 
by,  77. 

Nervousness,  a  cure  for,  27,  80. 

Nostrils,  relation  of,  to  tone  qual- 
ity, 14. 

O-sound,  lip  position  for,  20;  illus- 
trated, 21;  in  exercises,  59,  etc. 

OO-sound,  lip  position  for,  20,  21; 
in  exercises,  59,  etc. 

Open  Tones,  2,  5. 

Oral  Surgery,  2. 

Oratorio,  faulty  diction  in,  18. 

Over-Conscientiousness,  a  deter- 
rent to  beautiful  singing,  84. 

Overtones,  45,  46. 

Personality,  effect  on  the  voice,  83. 

Pharynx,  function  of,  10. 

Phillips,  Adelaide,  voice  of,  in 
declining  years,  4. 

Pitch  of  Tone,  influence  of  reso- 
nance cavities  on,  12,  13. 

Placing  the  Voice  (see  Tone  pro- 
duction). 

Power  of  Tone,  dependent  on  res- 
onant cavities  and  breath  con- 
trol, 27. 


92 


RESONANCE  IN  SINGING  AND  SPEAKING 


Principles  Advocated,  5. 

Pronunciation,  indifference  of 
American  singers  to,  17;  W.  J. 
Henderson  on,  18;  change  of  atti- 
tude toward,  18;  importance  of, 
to  singer,  18;  relation  of,  to  tone, 
18;  Ffrangcon-Davies  on,  18;  sing 
words  rather  than  tones,  18;  Lilli 
Lehmann  on,  19;  emotional  power 
impossible  without,  19;  Gounod 
on,  19;  Forbes-Robertson  on,  19; 
upper  lip  in,  19;  effect  cf  smile 
on,  19. 

Psychology  of  Vocal  Culture, 
82-85. 

Pterygoid  Muscles,  and  the  under 
jaw,  10. 

Public  Schools,  voice  training  in, 
78. 

Reeves,  Sims,  voice  of,  4. 

Registers,  38-42;  blending  the,  2, 
41;  not  a  natural  feature  of  the 
voice,  2;  fallacy  of  theory  of,  2; 
a  myth,  5;  the  bete  noire  of  vo- 
calists, 38;  defined,  38;  Clara 
Kathleen  Rogers  on,  38;  Lilli 
Lehmann  on,  39;  Ffrangcon- 
Davies  on,  39;  of  the  organ,  40; 
of  voice  and  instruments  com- 
pared, 40,  41;  an  artificial  crea- 
tion, 41,  42. 

Repose,  as  a  Preparation  for 
Vocal  Exercises,  80;  how  to 
induce,  80. 

Resonance,  differing  opinions  con- 
.  cerning,  3;  principle  of,  5;  nasal 
and  head  cavities  in,  12;  in- 
fluence of  resonance  cavities  on 
pitch,  12;  pitch  of  vowels  in,  20; 
and  power,  27;  and  breath  force, 
31;  in  general,  43-50;  develop- 
ment of  science  of,  43;  quality 
and  power  of,  44;  significance  of, 
45;  experiments  to  demonstrate, 
46-50;  induced,  47;  sympathetic, 
47,  48;  density  of  air  and,  47; 
volume  and  character  of  tones 
dependent  on,  49;  head  and  nasal, 
51-55;  relation  of  articulation  to 
51;  focusing  tone  a  matter  of,  52; 
effect  of  its  absence,  54;  exercises 
to  establish,  58-72. 

Resonator  of  the  Voice,  6. 


Respiration  (see  Breath  control  and 
Breathing). 

Respiratory  Muscles,  a  motor 
for  the  voice,  6;  described,  23, 
28;  action  of,  25;  illustrated,  24, 
29. 

Rogers,  Clara  Kathleen,  on  reg- 
isters, 38. 

Rudersdorff,  Madame,  and  nasal 
resonance,  2. 

Santley,  Sir  Charle3,  on  Garcia 
and  the  laryngoscope,  3. 

Scale  of  Vowel  Sounds,  20,  72. 

Self-Repression,  a  deterrent  to 
beautiful  singing,  84. 

Sembrich,  Marcella,  and  the  half- 
breath,  37;  use  of  nasal  reso- 
nance, 54. 

Singing,  subtlety  of,  4;  obstacles 
to,  5,  74,  84;  versus  speaking,  5, 
17;  mission  of  singer,  18;  defined 
as  breathing,  23;  age  to  begin,  77; 
in  public  schools,  78;  by  method, 
79;  vibrato  in,  80;  psychology  of, 
82-85;  sublimated  speech,  83; 
defined  by  Ffrangcon-Davies,  83; 
freedom  in,  84;  deterrents  to,  84. 

Sinuses,  illustrated,  7;  pairs  of,  8; 
function  of,  12. 

Smile,  Effect  of,  on  pronuncia- 
tion, 19. 

Soft  Palate,  office  of,  11,  52. 

Speaking,  obstacles  to,  5;  tones  of, 
identical  with  singing  tones,  5; 
difference  from  singing,  17;  ex- 
pression in,  83. 

Speaking  Voice,  misunderstood, 
16;  connection  with  singing  voice, 
16;  how  cultivated,  16;  identity 
with  singing  voice,  17;  and  pro- 
nunciation, 18,  19. 

Sphenoid  Bone,  8. 

Sphenoidal  Sinuses,  illustrated,  7; 
pairs  of,  8;  function  of,  12. 

Stage  Elocution,  criticism  of 
Forbes-Robertson  on,  19. 

Teeth,  function  of,  in  use  of  voice, 
12. 

Throat,  theory  of  sound  in,  1;  a 
resonator,  6;  illustrated,  7;  rela- 
tion to  voice,  8.  (See  Larynx 
and  Pharynx.) 


INDEX 


93 


Throat  Stiffness,  most  frequent 
obstacle  to  good  singing,  74;  ef- 
fect on  larynx,  74;  difficulty  in 
recognizing  one's  own,  74;  throat 
consciousness  a  common  cause  of, 
74;  induced  by  lack  of  breath 
mastery,  75;  American  hurry  be- 
gets, 75;  voice  culture  a  strug- 
gle with,  75;  remedies  for,  75,  76. 

Timbre  of  Voice,  defined  and  ex- 
plained, 7,  8. 

Tone,  defined,  45;  analyzed  45; 
experiments  to  determine  com- 
position and  resonance  of,  46-50; 
focusing  of,  52;  vocal,  a  mental 
concept,  82;  whole  man  in,  83. 

Tone  Production,  largely  a  mat- 
ter of  resonance,  56;  effect  of 
right  thought  on,  56;  judged  by 
naturalness  and  beauty  of  result, 
56;  function  of  the  ear  in  govern- 
ing, 57;  cultivating  normal,  57; 
exercises  to  aid  in,  58-73;  effect 
of  throat  stiffness  on,  74;  natural, 
77;  age  to  begin  study  of,  77. 

Tone  Quality,  variety  in,  6;  effect 
of  emotion  upon,  7,  75,  S4;  rela- 
tion of  pronunciation  to,  18;  how 
to  secure  purity  of,  18,  19;  ex- 
periments to  determine,  46-50; 
and  resonance,  5,  44,  45,  49,  50; 
cause  of  nasal,  52-54;  beauty  or 
harshness  of,  a  criterion  of  judg- 
ment, 56,  57;  effect  of  throat 
stiffness  on,  74-76;  dependent  on 
mind  and  ear,  82;  related  to  per- 
sonality of  singer,  83;  natural  and 
unnatural,  85. 

Tongue,  as  an  articulator,  6;  illus- 
trated, 7;  connection  with  larynx, 
9;  position  of,  in  speaking  and 
singing,  13;  tongue  consciousness, 
14. 

Under  Jaw,  10;  in  ascending  the 

scale,  10. 
Upper    Lip,  in  pronunciation,  19; 

in  practising,  68;  in  articulation, 

72. 
Uvula,  office  of,  11. 

Ventricle  in  vhe  Larynx,  8. 
Vibrato,  80,  81. 


Vibrator,  of  the  voice,  6;  of  in- 
struments, 43. 

Vitalizing  Text  with  Tone,  the 
singer's  mission,  18. 

Vocal  Cords,  vibrator  for  the  voice, 
6;  in  the  larynx,  8;  described,  9; 
not  the  principal  cause  of  tone, 
44,  45,  49;  necessity  of  free  action 
of,  51. 

Vocal  Instrument,  discussion  of, 
6-15;  beauty  and  complexity  of, 
6;  three  elements  of,  6,  7;  illus- 
trated, 7;  relation  oi  parts  of,  8; 
larynx,  8,  9;  vocal  cords,  9;  epi- 
glottis, 10;  pharynx,  10;  under 
jaw,  10;  soft  palate,  11;  hard 
palate  and  teeth,  12;  nasal  and 
head  cavities.  12;  tongue,  13; 
lips,  14;  nostrils,  14;  face,  15; 
defects  in,  85. 

Vocal  Tone,  an  audible  mental 
concept,  82. 

Voice  Culture,  opinions  concern- 
ing, 2;  wrong  methods  of  a  gen- 
eration ago,  3,  ,4;  cannot  be  de- 
veloped mechanically,  4;  princi- 
ples advocated,  5;  the  right  way 
the  easy  way,  5;  resonance  an 
important  factor  of,  5,  43,  45,  50, 
52,  54;  should  begin  in  childhood, 
77;  learned  by  imitation,  77; 
Roger  Ascham  on,  77,  78;  in 
public  schools,  78;  artistry  in, 
78,  79;  three  periods  of,  79;  ap- 
plication of  essentials  of,  79;  re- 
pose as  a  preparation  for,  80; 
the  vibrato  in,  80;  psychology 
of,  82-85;  personality  in,  S3;  free- 
dom in,  84;  deterrents  in,  84,  85. 

Voice  Placing,  51,  52,  56-73. 

Voice  Timbre,  defined,  7,  S. 

Vowel  Sounds,  11,  18,  19;  singer's 
scale  of,  20,  72;  each  has  its  own 
pitch,  20;  lip  position  for,  20-22; 
placing  of,  52;  exercises  fcr  prac- 
tice, 58-73. 

Webster,     Daniel,     as    a    good 

speaker,  16. 
Wheatstone,    on    pitch    of   vowel 

sounds,  20. 
Willis,  on  pitch  ci  vowel  sounds, 

20. 


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Instrumentation.  Ebenezer  Prout,  Mus.  Doc.  A 
valuable  guide  and  assistant  to  students  who 
wish  to  gain  a  knowledge  ot  the  proper  blending 
of    orchestral      instruments,      their      compass, 

capabilities,  etc 1  50  a 

do Paper  90  a 

Lessons  in  Music  Form.  Percy  Goetschius,  Mus.  Doc. 
A  manual  of  analysis  of  all  the  structural  factors 
and  designs  employed  in  musical  composition. . .  1  50  a 

Musical  Forms.  Ernest  Pauer.  The  students  of  musi- 
cal form,  and  especially  those  who  study  com- 
position, will  find  this  a  very  valuable  and 
thorough  work \  75 

do Paper  90  a 

Sound  and  Its  Relation  to  Music.  Clarence  G.  Hamil- 
ton, A.M.  A  handbook  of  acoustics  as  relating 
to  music.  Based  on  the  latest  discoveries  and 
experiments 1  50  a 


CONDUCTING,  HISTORY,  MUSIC  APPRECIATION 
AND  DEFINITIONS 

Essentials  in  Conducting.  Karl  W.  Gehrkens,  A.  M. 
On  personal  requirements,  technic  of  the  baton, 
interpretation,  rehearsing,  program  making,  etc.  1   75  a 

Outlines  of  Music  History.  Clarence  G.  Hamilton,  A.M. 
A  compact,  clearcut  work  for  class  use  and  the 
general  reader.     Fully  illustrated 2  25  4 

Music  Appreciation.  Clarence  G.  Hamilton,  A.  M. 
Based  on  methods  of  literary  criticism,  this 
unique  text-book  is  for  those  who  wish  to  listen 
to  music  with  quickened  hearing  and  real  under- 
standing. With  24  portraits,  28  diagrams  and 
over  200  music  cuts 2  50  a 

Music  Club  Programs  From  all  Nations.  Arthur 
Elson.  Outlines  the  various  schools  from  all 
nations  with  a  rich  series  of  programs  and  over 
one  hundred  portraits 2  00  a 

Some  Essentials  in   Musical   Definitions.       M.   F. 

MacConnell.  Covers  the  needed  information  on 
all  points  connected  with  musical  theory,  and 
therefore  of  special  value  to  piano,  singing, 
violin,  and  organ  students 1  25  a 


THE   MUSICIANS   LIBRARY 

This  notable  series  has  been  planned  to  embrace  all  the  master- 
pieces of  song  and  piano  literature;  to  gather  into  superbly 
made  volumes  of  uniform  size  and  binding  the  best  work  of  the 
best  composers,  edited  by  men  of  authority.  Each  volume  is 
independent,  complete  in  itself,  and  sold  by  itself. 

Paper,  Cloth  Back,  per  Volume $2  50  a 

Cloth,  Gilt,  per  Volume 3  50  a 

PIANO  VOLUMES 
Bach  Piano  Album 

Vol.  I.     Shorter  Compositions.     Edited  by  Dr.  Ebenezer  Prout. 

Bach  Piano  Album 

Vol.  II.     Larger  Compositions.     Edited  by  Dr.  Ebenezer  Prout. 
Beethoven  Piano  Compositions 

Vols.  I  and  II.     Edited  by  Eugen  D'Albert. 
Brahms,  Johannes 

Selected  Piano  Compositions.     Edited  by  Rafael  Joseffy. 
Chopin,  Frederic 

Forty  Piano  Compositions.     Edited  by  James  Huneker. 
Chopin,  Frederic 

The  Greater  Chopin.     Edited  by  James  Huneker. 

Grieg,  Edvard 

Larger  Piano  Compositions.     Edited  by  Bertha  Feiring  Tapper. 

Grieg,  Edvard 

Piano  Lyrics  and  Shorter  Compositions.    Edited  by  Bertha  Feiring 
Tapper. 
Haydn,  Franz  Josef 

Twenty  Piano  Compositions.     Edited  by  Xaver  Scharwenka. 

Liszt,  Franz 

Twenty  Original  Piano  Compositions.    Edited  by  August  Spanuth. 

Liszt,  Franz 

Twenty  Piano  Transcriptions.     Edited  by  August  Spanuth. 

Liszt,  Franz 

Ten  Hungarian  Rhapsodies.     Edited  by  August  Spanuth  and  lohn 

Orth. 
Mendelssohn,  Felix 

Thirty   Piano  Compositions.     Edited  by  Percy  Goetschius,   Mus. 

Doc.     With  a  Preface  by  Daniel  Gregory  Mason. 
Mozart,  Wolfgang  Amadeus 

Twenty  Piano  Compositions.     Edited  by  Carl  Reinecke. 


THE  MUSICIANS  LIBRARY— (Continued). 
Schubert,  Franz 

Selected  Piano  Compositions.     Edited  by  A.  Spanuth. 
Schumann,  Robert 

Fifty  Piano  Compositions.     Edited  by  Xaver  Scharwenka. 
Wagner,  Richard 

Selections  from  the  Music  Dramas.     Edited  by  Otto  Singer. 


Anthology  of  French  Piano  Music 

Vol.    I.     Early  Composers.     Vol.  II.    Modern  Composers.     Edited 

by  Isidor  Philipp. 
Anthology  of  German  Piano  Music 

Vol.    I.     Early  Composers.   Vol.11.     Modern  Composers.     Edited 

by    Moritz  Moszkowski. 
Early  Italian  Piano  Music 

Edited  by  M.  Esposito. 
Modern  Russian  Piano  Music 

Vols.  I  and  II.     Edited  by  Constantin  von  Sternberg. 
Twenty-four  Negro  Melodies. 

Transcribed  for  Piano  by  S.  Coleridge-Taylor. 


SONG  VOLUMES 
Brahms,  Johannes 

Forty  Songs.     High  Voice.     Low  Voice.    Edited  by  James  Huneker. 
Franz,  Robert 

Fifty  Songs.     High  Voice.     Low  Voice.     Edited  by  William  Foster 

Apthorp. 
Grieg,  Edvard 

Fifty  Songs.     High  Voice.     Low  Voice.     Edited  by  Henry  T.  Finck 
Handel,  George  Frideric 

Vol.   I.     Songs  and  Airs.     High  Voice.     Vol.  II.     Songs  and  Airs. 

Low  Voice.     Edited  by  Dr.  Ebenezer  Prout. 
Jensen,  Adolf 

Forty  Songs.     High  Voice.     Low  Voice.     Edited  by  William  Foster 

Apthorp. 
Liszt,  Franz 

Thirty  Songs.  High  Voice.  Low  Voice.  Edited  by  Carl  Armbruster. 
Schubert,  Franz 

Fifty  Songs.     High  Voice.   Low  Voice.    Edited  by  Henry  T.  Finck. 
Schumann,  Robert 

Fifty  Songs.     High  Voice.   Low  Voice.   Edited  by  W.J.  Henderson. 
Strauss,  Richard 

Forty  Songs.     High  Voice.    Low  Voice.    Edited  by  James  Huneker. 
Tchaikovsky,  P.  I. 

Forty  Songs.     High  Voice.    Low  Voice.    Edited  by  James  Huneker. 
Wagner,  Richard 

Lyrics  for  Soprano.     Edited  by  Carl  Armbruster. 


THE  MUSICIANS  LIBRARY— Song  Volumes—  {Continued). 

Wagner,  Richard 

Lyrics  for  Tenor.     Edited  by  Carl  Armbruster. 
Wagner,  Richard 

Lyrics  for  Baritone  and  Bass.     Edited  by  Carl  Armbruster. 
Wolf,  Hugo 

Fifty  Songs.     High  Voice.   Low  Voice.   Edited  by  Ernest  Newman. 
Fifty  Mastersongs 

High  Voice.     Low  Voice.     Edited  by  Henry  T.  Finck. 
Fifty  Shakspere  Songs 

High  Voice.     Low  Voice.      Edited  by  Charles  Vincent  .Mus.  Doc 
Modern  French  Songs 

High  Voice.     Low  Voice.     Vol.   I.     Bemberg  to  Franck.    Vol.  II. 

Georges  to  Widor„     Edited  by  Philip  Hale. 
One  Hundred  English  Folksongs. 

Medium  Voice.     Edited  by  Cecil  J   Sharp. 
One    Hundred    Folk-Songs    of    all    Nations.        Medium     Voice. 

Edited  by  Granville  Bantock. 
One  Hundred  Songs  by  Ten  Masters.     High  Voice.    Low  Voice 

Edited  by  Henry  T.  Finck.     Vol.  I.  Schubert,  Schumann,  Franz, 

Rubinstein  and  Jensen.     Vol.    II.    Brahms,  Tchaikovsky,  Grieg, 

Wolf  and  Strauss. 
One  Hundred  Songs  of  England 

High  Voice.     Low  Voice.     Edited  by  Granville  Bantock. 
Seventy  Scottish  Songs 

High  Voice.     Low  Voice.     Edited  by  Helen  Hopekirk. 
Sixty  Folk-songs  of  France 

Medium  Voice.     Edited  by  Julien  Tiersot. 
Sixty  Irish  Songs 

High  Voice.     Low  Voice.     Edited  by  William  Arms  Fisher. 
Sixty  Patriotic  Songs  of  All  Nations 

Medium  Voice.     Edited  by  Granviiie  Bantock. 
Songs  by  Thirty  Americans 

High  Voice.     Low  Voice      Edited  bv  Rupert  Hughes. 
Songs  From  the  Operas  for  Soprano 

Edited  by  H.  E.  Krehbiel. 
Songs  From  the  Operas  for  Mezzo  Soprano 

Edited  by  H.  E.  Krehbiel. 
Songs  From  the  Operas  for  Alto 

Edited  by  H.  E.  Krehbiel. 
Songs  From  the  Operas  for  Tenor 

Edited  by  H.  E.  Krehbiel. 
Songs  From  the  Operas  for  Baritone  and  Bass 

Edited  by  H.  E.  Krehbiel. 

Other  volumes  are  in  preparation.      Booklets,    giving  full    particular*,   with  por-- 
traits  of  Editors,  and  contents  of  volumes  published,  FREE  on  request. 


504 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA   LIBRARY 

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